The Board of Trustees present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006 and “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)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016)
Our aim is to provide help to the people of Dorset suffering with cancer in a very individual way to meet their immediate needs and to make life easier during a difficult period; Trustees believe that this satisfies the public benefit requirement of the Charity Commission.
This is achieved by the provision of non-repayable financial grants to individual Dorset based cancer sufferers to fund for example, temporary accommodation, transport, childcare, food, minor household modification, domestic help, specialised equipment such as wigs and sleeves, certain treatments and counselling, and other financial hardships caused by the cancer.
This has been an exceptional year for the Charity, highest income ever, highest payment of awards to individuals, highest amount in the bank at year end since 2015, and costs lower than awards.
As mentioned in the 2024 report, two courageous young men pledged to raise money for us by running seven marathons in seven days in March 25 and by the end of 2024 they had raised £20k. This year that figure rose to almost £100k, a fantastic amount and an amazing feat by them. Another pledge, the Ladies Marathon walk, raised over £7,000.
This year we have run a full calendar of successful events to generate funds. A choir was started at the end of 2024 and has successfully grown with much interest and has so far raised nearly £7,000 for us. We had another successful Black-Tie Gala which raised £47k, and other events we organised raised £31k.
We are extremely grateful to third-party fund raisers who gave us nearly £28k and we received donations totalling £45k.
We cannot thank all our donors and supporters enough, it is their generosity that enables the Charity to provide help to Dorset cancer sufferers and their families.
As last year we have been raising our visibility within the Dorset area by visits to medical facilities, radio and TV interviews and social media to reach out to more cancer patients and target corporate partnerships to support us. We are working to create volunteer hubs in areas where our visibility needs to increase away from our traditional areas in Dorset.
Finances
Our gross income in 2025 was £258k an increase over last year (2024 - £224k); our events raised £209k (2024 - £119k) from our annual Black-Tie Gala and from other DCCF organised and third-party events some via our sponsors. Donations and legacies were £45k (2024 - £102k), as a legacy was received last year.
Our support costs – staff, office, PR, fund raising costs and governance – totalled £71k (2024 - £78k). Fundraising costs were £48k (2024 - £50k).
We started the year with £210k (2024 - £149k) in the bank and have finished the year with £253k (2024 -£210k).
The designated reserves fund was reviewed and set at £30k for 2025, whilst the remaining funds at year end were £222k; both funds are unrestricted.
Awards
We had 84 applications during the year (2024 -115), and paid a total of £102k (2024 - £68k) to 60 applicants (2024 – 73); 68% were given for financial support. The average award was £1,692 (2024 - £929); the average amount has increased significantly through the years, 5 years ago it was £527.
Since the Charity began we have given 947 awards totalling £872k to individuals, other charities and the NHS. We could potentially reach £1 million in awards next year, but hopefully will in 2027.
Policy
The Board of Trustees has 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 organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006, incorporated on 19th December 2012 and registered as a charity on 11th April 2013. The company was established under a Memorandum of Association, which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its Articles of Association.
The Charity, a non-profit organisation, is overseen by a board of hands-on trustees and supportive patrons. The foundation raises income from running fundraising activities such as the charity dinner, auctions, raffles and sponsored events. The net profits are totally distributed in financial grants to deserving cancer sufferers and their families in the county of Dorset, keeping in mind the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit with procedures designed to be effective at a reasonable cost.
The expenses of the Charity are kept to a minimum and controlled, expenditure includes one part time Charity Manager and two part-time administrators, insurance, wages, office, IT, website and PR; no Trustee, Ambassador or Volunteer is paid an income or receives expenses from the Charity.
Induction and Training of New Trustees
The Charity has an induction and training procedure to be followed within a month of the appointment of a new Trustee and it is the responsibility of the Company Secretary to ensure this is completed. The Company Secretary conducts the induction meeting and ensures all necessary paperwork is provided to the Trustee and keeps a register of all induction proceedings.
It is recommended that the new Trustee reads three Charity Commission documents – Charity Trustee: What’s Involved, The Essential Trustee and The Governance Code for Smaller Charities.
The Board of 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 Board of Trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the Board of Trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up.
Finally, the Charity could not function without the hard work and dedication of all the people that support us, volunteers, staff, sponsors and Trustees, and I would like to thank each and every one of them. At the end of 2025, we had 8 Trustees.
The Trustees' report was approved by the Board Of Trustees.
I report to the Board of Trustees on my examination of the financial statements of The Dorset Cancer Care Foundation (the charity) for the year ended 31 December 2025.
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 the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), 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.
Investment Income
Raising funds
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
The Dorset Cancer Care Foundation is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Discovery Court Business Centre, 551-553 Wallisdown Road, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5AG, United Kingdom.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's memorandum and articles, the Companies Act 2006 and “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)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
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 pound.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, modified to include the revaluation of freehold properties and to include investment properties and certain financial instruments at fair value. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the Board of Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the Board of Trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Board of 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.
Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, 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 accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
Expenditure is classified as follows:
- Costs of raising funds comprise all costs of selling souvenirs and sundry items together with the costs of staging specific events in the year.
- Costs with regards the charitable activity undertaken to further the purposes of the charity and its associated support costs.
Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.
Grants offered subject to conditions which have not been met at the year end date are noted as a commitment but not accrued as expenditure.
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.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
Investment Income
Raising funds
Rent
Insurance
IT costs
Telephone
Postage and stationery
Sundries
Training
Bank charges
Accountancy fees
Charitable Activity Support costs are apportioned by an estimation of approximately 75% of the time spent on Fundraising activities (2024: approximately 75%).
Governance costs includes payments to the independent examiners of £2,040 (2024- £2,040) for independent examination fees.
The average monthly number of part-time employees during the year was:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
Deferred income represents amount received in advance for a fundraising event that took place in the following year.
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.
These are unrestricted funds which are material to the charity's activities.
The designated fund is entitled Run off costs fund. This is money set aside for the winding up of the charity in the event of cessation of activities/loss of other funding.
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2024 - none).