What does your charity do and what are your main channels of income?

We provide services and facilities for people with learning disabilities. Our main source of income is through direct appeals to charitable foundations and grant-giving trusts that fund such services in the areas where we operate. Local trusts are one of our biggest sources of income because we are very embedded in the communities in which we operate. We are lucky that we work in various different locations, so that whenever we start services in a new area there is a new potential source of funding.

Total income last year was £250,000, including £10,000 in gifts in kind, and that marks an increase of 400 per cent in the year since I joined. The largest single grant that we received last financial year was £30,000, but some are as small as £1,500. Of course, these tend to be restricted funds.