Our financial year ended on 30 November 2024. Our full Trustees' Annual Report and accounts are filed with the Charity Commission (No. 1133149) and are available via the register. This is a plain-English version for anyone who wants the shape of the year without wading through SORP accounting notes.
Where the money came from
Of the £31,967 we received in the year, roughly:
- Donations from individuals made up the largest single share — regular giving from a small circle of supporters in Devon, one-off gifts in response to our occasional dispatches, and collections at agricultural events such as the Devon County Show.
- Legacies were received from two estates whose executors contacted us on behalf of the deceased. Legacies tend to be the single biggest variable in our year-on-year income — we plan prudently on the assumption that they will not arrive, and are grateful when they do.
- Investment income from the fund's modest reserves contributed a small but stable amount, which we treat as part of core income to meet quarterly grant-making commitments.
- Grants from trusts & foundations provided a minority of income this year. We tend to apply for restricted project funding rather than core costs — since we have almost no core costs — and most of this income was earmarked for a specific research project (see below).
Where the money went
The board of trustees takes the view that we exist to distribute funds, not to accumulate them. Our reserves policy is to hold a modest operational buffer — sufficient to meet committed grants and known running costs for roughly one year — and to distribute the balance as quickly as it can be usefully spent.
In broad terms, the year's grants were split across our four programme areas:
- Hardship grants took the largest share — small, confidential one-off grants to farming households across the county, typically of a few hundred to a few thousand pounds each, made on the recommendation of trusted referrers.
- Agricultural education grants supported a small portfolio of school and college projects — a primary-school farm visit programme in mid-Devon, a skills bursary at Bicton College, and a travel award for a young farmer attending an industry placement outside the county.
- Research grants and dissemination funded one multi-year research project (with co-funding from a partner trust) and a short knowledge-exchange event held in partnership with a Devon farmer cluster group.
- Running costs — insurance, the annual return fee, bank charges, postage and a modest audit fee — were a small fraction of the year's spend. There are no paid staff, no office rent and no marketing budget.
What this means in practice
The simple fact about a charity of our size is this: we are not going to transform Devon's farming economy single-handedly. What we can do is make the difference between a household making it through a hard winter and a household losing the farm. We can underwrite the modest costs that sit between a bright idea in a classroom and a farm-visit that actually runs. We can back applied research that larger funders think too small. And we can do it without consuming most of the money in overheads.
"A small charity is not a small version of a big charity. It is a different animal — quicker, quieter, and answerable to a narrower set of people. Both kinds matter."
What we want to do more of
Three priorities the trustees have set for the coming year. First, increase our regular giving — a handful of people committing a few pounds a month would shift the stability of the fund's income considerably. Second, strengthen our referrer network into parts of North Devon where we are less visible. Third, publish a small piece of applied research on farmer mental-health support pathways in Devon, building on what we have learned from this year's hardship caseload.
None of that is possible without the supporters — donors, legacy-makers, referrers, trustees — who make this charity function. Thank you. If you would like to support our work, please give to the fund, or get in touch if you would like to discuss a legacy or partnership.
Full accounts for FY2024 are filed with the Charity Commission and can be accessed via the charity's register entry.
