The trustees of Cherry Lodge Cancer Care have now abandoned their plan to hold a 2020 Annual General Meeting in December. This action is permissable under government guidance to charities during the coronavirus epidemic. We consider that even a small, socially distanced AGM at Howard House would still present too much of a health risk. The possibility of staging an AGM online was explored but, given the technological challenges, was dismissed as unlikely to be of sufficient benefit to our stakeholders.
In normal years, the Cherry Lodge AGM comprises the chairman’s welcome and presentation of the Annual Report for the preceding year, followed by a summary by our auditor, Andrew Geary, of the charity’s financial activities during that period. Both Margaret and Andrew normally answer questions from the audience. (This year, if wished, questions can be raised by emailing info@cherrylodgecancercare.org.uk.)
Cherry Lodge Cancer Care Annual Report 2019
A copy of the 2019 Annual Report can be accessed by clicking here. The Report was approved by the trustees at our Trustees Meeting on 27th October 2020.
During 2019 the charity continued to provide a full range of information and support services to its members, at our centre and also in the community via outreach. There were 4,390 visits to the centre, with an average of 150-200 people attending each week. Among them were 161 new members. A total of 2,579 booked complementary therapy and other appointments took place. The Outreach Service recorded 1,044 contacts, of whom 367 were new.
In addition to Cherry Lodge’s own fundraising events, we benefited from the ongoing support of Summer Soulstice and from being one of two charities chosen by Cllr Caroline Stock for her 2019-20 Barnet Mayor’s Appeal. Our shop in Borehamwood was closed down in March 2019 but the Barnet shop continued to trade briskly.
Financial Summary 2019
Cherry Lodge Cancer Care’s audited accounts for the year ended 31st December 2019 were approved by the Trustees at their meeting on 27th October 2020. Following this meeting, our annual returns were submitted to the Charity Commission ahead of this year’s extended deadline of 31st October.
At the Trustees meeting, Cherry Lodge’s auditor, Andrew Geary, took us through the Abbreviated Accounts (Summary Statement of Financial Actitivies for the year ended 31 December 2019). Andrew not only drew our attention to key differences between the figures for 2019 and those for 2018, but also provided explanations for them.
Total incoming resources were down to £342,022 (from £497,291), due largely to a typical annual legacy income in 2019 of £6,000 (compared to £62,000 in 2018, when a very large legacy was received). Shop income was also down, to £104,196 (from £150,522), due in large measure to closing down our Borehamwood shop when its lease ended.
Total resources expended were down to £444,360, from £496,834. This reduction can be explained largely by reduced shop costs following the Borehamwood shop closure. It is important to note that expendiiture on our charitable activities (home visits and outreach, information and support, therapies and patient care) increased overall to £270,760 in 2019, up by £21,755 from 2018.
After taking all costs into account, there was a net deficit for the year of £80,727 compared to a small surplus of £277 in 2018 (thanks to the large legacy). At the end of 2019, Cherry Lodge had cash reserves of £1.6 million, approximately half of which was in low-risk managed funds and bonds (which performed well), with the balance in bank accounts.