Hearing Dogs for Deaf People has announced that it will merge with Hearing Link, a smaller deafness charity which was concerned about its financial sustainability.
Hearing Dogs for Deaf People announced the pending merger on Monday. A spokeswoman said the process will be complete by 1 August 2017.
She said both "brand identities" would continue to be used as "both are well-loved and well-recognised". However, after the merger, the merged organisation will be registered with the Charity Commission under Hearing Dogs for Deaf People’s existing charity number.
“Hearing Dogs for Deaf People is the larger of the two organisations and its established registered charity number will be the one that both organisations will operate under,” said the spokeswoman. “Over time back office cost efficiencies will be implemented as bank accounts and administration are merged into one function."
The spokeswoman said that Michele Jennings, current chief executive of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, will become chief executive of the merged organisation. Dr Lorraine Gailey, the current chief executive of Hearing Link, will become chief operating officer once Hearing Link’s services have been merged into Hearing Dogs.
Hearing Link’s trustees will remain for their terms and the spokeswoman said she expected “a number” of the organisation’s trustees to join the merged board in the future.
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She said that there will be no redundancies made in either organisation as a result of the merger.
Hearing Link’s assets will be transferred to Hearing Dogs on or around 1 August, but Hearing Link will retain office space in Eastbourne and Edinburgh as well as “virtual offices” in Belfast and Cardiff.
The Hearing Dogs spokeswoman said that over half of Hearing Link’s current staff work from home, due to many being volunteers. Hearing Dogs for Deaf People’s head office will remain in Buckinghamshire.
Michele Jennings said: “The merger of our two organisations has secured the future of Hearing Link, which has found it increasingly difficult to maintain financial sustainability. The wealth of knowledge and expertise within Hearing Link will now be made available to even more people through the development opportunities provided by the combination of our more than 100 years of experience in helping deaf people.”
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