The Trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 30 November 2023.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts and comply with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006 and the Statement of Recommended Practice, "Accounting and Reporting by Charities", issued in March 2005.
Summary of Objects of the charity set out in its governing document:
'The relief of sickness and the preservation of health by relieving persons suffering from cancer and the families and carers of such persons by the provision of positive individual and/or family experiences with the object of aiding the recuperation of those suffering from the effects of cancer and its treatment and improving the conditions of life of such persons and their families.'
Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects:
‘Something To Look Forward To’ provides donated gifts, experiences and essentials to people affected by cancer and facing cancer poverty as a result of their diagnosis.
Our aim
To promote the well-being, relieve the stress and aid the recuperation of those who are experiencing the effects of cancer and its treatment, together with their families. In particular by the provision of positive individual and/or family experiences.
Our Objective
To provide a comprehensive website where people with cancer and their families can access a variety of free ‘gifts’ donated by companies and individuals. These include free breaks in holiday cottages; restaurant meals; a day at the races; hotel stays; theatre tickets; beauty treatments; tickets for attractions… the list is endless.
Our vision
For all people experiencing the effects of cancer, together with their families, to be able to access an activity of their choice to increase well-being, relieve stress and aid recuperation.
Provision
The charity provides the following donated gifts and experiences which are sourced from businesses and individuals:
Holidays and short breaks – These gifts provide couples and families with a break from their usual world of cancer treatment, scans, and results.
Dining experiences – These gifts allow couples and families to spend valuable time together outside of the home creating positive memories.
Activities and Attractions - These gifts provide couples and families with the opportunity to have fun by taking part in indoor and outdoor activities, promoting both their physical and emotional health.
Health and Wellbeing - These gifts allow individuals, couples, and families to rest and recuperate during their time of need as well offering the opportunity for physical exercise and complimentary therapy.
Essentials – These gifts are for those experiencing extreme financial problems which we grant via the agencies we work with to reach those most in need. These include such things as bedding; towels; toiletries; clothing and food vouchers.
Iconic - including things that people have always wanted to try including flights in light aircrafts and British Pullman train experiences.
Business Partnerships
We maintained key partnerships with larger businesses who could donate a higher quantity of gifts and experiences helping us improve our reach within the cancer community and improve efficiency of service delivery.
New partnerships formed this year include:
Aspects - Cornwall holiday experts
Classic British Hotels – Luxury UK Hotels and Resorts
Raver Tots - UK’s biggest family friendly rave and festival brand
Pizza Pilgrims – UK pizza restaurant chain
Gourmet Burger Kitchen – UK burger restaurant chain
The Inn Collection Group - A leading pub with rooms company in the Lake District, the Northeast, North Yorkshire, Lancashire and North Wales.
Eve’s Place
Our charity caravan funded by the Pink Ribbon Foundation entered its second year of welcoming families affected by breast cancer for weeklong holidays that they couldn’t otherwise afford.
Through the period this report covers, we provided 42 breaks which improved the lives of 230 people affected by breast cancer including patients, carers, and families.
“Whilst in the caravan I reconnected with myself and felt more alive than ever. It has brought us all together. I had my kids cuddling up to me and I was emotionally available to them. It was great to have those quality times back after 9 months of not having those moments and sensations. Your generosity has made a huge impact on my and my family's life. We reconnected and enjoyed the nature surrounding the area, while being in a comfortable caravan. I was able to feel like a mum to my kids again after 9 months of just putting the face and holding on. THANK YOU is not enough.” (Beneficiary)
Projects
During the period of this report, we successfully delivered the following projects:
Nationwide General Project (self-funded)
Breast Cancer Project (Pink Ribbon Foundation)
Project Cambridge (Cambridge Community Foundation)
Project Suffolk (Suffolk Community Foundation)
Project Essex (Essex Community Foundation)
Project Midlands (The Woodhill Charitable Trust)
Project Bedfordshire (Bedfordshire & Luton Community Foundation)
Children & Young People affected by cancer in Kent (Tesco via Groundwork)
Project London (Brockwell Live)
Pancreatic Cancer Project (Elizabeth Coteman Fund)
Our regional response programmes are delivered over the period of 1 year and enable us to set up, roll out and deliver the ‘Something To Look Forward To’ service in a geographical area that has been identified as having a lack of provision for it’s cancer community.
An example of what we were able to achieve via this type of project can be seen via our Midlands Project in which we with £10,000 of funding from the Woodhill Charitable Trust we were able to provide the following:
No of gifts | Value of gifts & experiences | No of people supported | Average value of gift | Average value per person |
403 | £105,764 | 1510 | £262 | £70 |
During this specific project we were able to provide a value of gifts and experiences worth over 10 x the value of the grant provided.
Impact
We continue to measure our impact across four main themes: Emotional Health and Wellbeing; Emotional impact on family and Carers; Identity; and Isolation. We ask beneficiaries to scale themselves on how they were feeling before and after using our service using a ten-point scale, with ten the highest level of wellbeing, and 1 being the lowest as well as leaving qualitative feedback.
Our quantitative results are as follows:
Theme | Average Rating Before Using Our Service | Average Rating After Using our Service | Wellbeing % increase |
Isolation & Loneliness | 4.8 | 7.1 | 48% |
Emotional Health & Wellbeing | 4.2 | 7.3 | 74% |
Emotional impact on family & Carers | 4.6 | 7.5 | 63% |
Identity | 3.6 | 6.5 | 81% |
On average, service users rated their experience of applying for, receiving, and using their gift or experience from ‘Something To Look Forward To’ as 9.6 out of 10. Considering the above we believe we delivered a highly professional service which made a considerable impact across the often-overlooked areas of need within the cancer community.
Outputs
| YEAR 8 – (Nov 22- Oct 23) |
Number of gifts | 1159 |
Value of gifts and experiences | £449,580 |
No of people supported | 6252 |
Average value of gift | £387.90 |
Average value per person | £71.91 |
The cost of the delivering the service this year was £173,430. As such, we provided a value of provision 2.5 times the cost of running our service making us a hugely cost-effective charity.
Finances
We received an overall income of £199,934 compared to £163,019 the previous year which is a 23% increase. Our most notable achievements include:
increased individual donations from previous year £29,499 to £54,425 which is an 84% increase.
increased corporate donations from previous year £26,206 to £37,926 which is a 45% increase.
Fundraising
Our principal sources of fundraising came from the following Trusts & Foundations:
The Pink Ribbon Foundation
Cambridge Community Foundation
Suffolk Community Foundation
Essex Community Foundation
The Woodhill Charitable Trust
Bedfordshire & Luton Community Foundation
Elizabeth Coteman Fund
The Souter Trust
The Big Give
Strategic Planning
In partnership with the ‘Something To Look Forward To’ team, The Trustees of the charity have agreed their strategic plan for the next three years to include planned growth of the charity in line with the growing demand on our service from the cancer community including our beneficiary needs, gift and experiencing sourcing, fundraising, marketing, and organisational structure.
The Trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.
The Trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
In partnership with the ‘Something To Look Forward To’ team, The Trustees of the charity have agreed their strategic plan for the next three years to include planned growth of the charity in line with the growing demand on our service from the cancer community including our beneficiary needs, gift and experiencing sourcing, fundraising, marketing, and organisational structure.
The charity is a company limited by guarantee.
The Trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
None of the Trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the Trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up.
Names of Founding & Managing Directors
Andrew Coldron: Founding Director
Fiona Coldron: Founding Director (deceased)
Francesca Abery: Managing Director
Staff Members
Francesca Abery: Managing Director
Molly Lambert: Projects Coordinator
Holly Kingsley: Relationship Executive
Ambassador
Lisa Faulkner
Patron
Dr Rosina Allin-Khan MP
The Trustees report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report to the Trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Something To Look Forward To (the charity) for the year ended 30 November 2023.
As the Trustees of the charity (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (the 2006 Act).
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
Since the charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of ICAEW, which is one of the listed bodies.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Something To Look Forward To is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 84 Coleridge Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB1 3PJ.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's [governing document], the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
There are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
Donations and gifts includes income from donated goods of £449,580 (2022: £540,492), which is measured at the fair value of the goods donated unless this is impractical to measure reliably, in which case the value is derived from the cost to the donor or the estimated resale value.
Donated facilities and services are recognised in the accounts when received if the value can be reliably measured. No amounts are included for the contribution of general volunteers.
None of the Trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration during the year.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2022 - none).
The charity had no material debt during the year.