Annual Report
Annual Report
Welcome to our Annual Report and Accounts 2024
As we reflect on the accomplishments of the Charity over the past year, we are privileged to share highlights that exemplify commitment to our mission and the impactful partnerships that drive our success.
One of our key strategic goals for the last year has been to increase our Medical Alert Assistance Dog (MAAD) placements, focusing on bringing the number of placements back to the record levels we achieved pre-Covid. We’re pleased to have made a real step change this year, having achieved 20 partnership placements during the year – a 54% increase on 2022/23. We plan for this growth to continue as we expand our regional presence, and adapt our delivery model to accommodate more applicant owned dogs alongside dogs procured by MDD.
The other key focus has been investing in our fundraising activities and cutting costs to enable us to move back towards a breakeven position, following a challenging fundraising year in 2022/23. We’ve been faced with difficult decisions about our structure, making sure we are operating within our means, and continuing to support existing partnerships. Maximising our charitable impact continues to drive our decision making in financial terms, and we were pleased to both meet our goal of increased MAAD placements as well as record an outturn for 2023/24 ahead of budget. Whilst there is still work to be done to reach financial balance, our investment in fundraising activities and focus on cost control have put us in a favourable position, with a more positive outlook in 2024/25 and an aim to break even in 2025/26.
Our Bio Detection Research department continues to build on the concept of moving our research achievements in the past into real-world benefits. During the year we piloted our Community Medical Detection Dogs (CMDD) programme, aimed at detecting conditions on a one-dog-to-many-people basis. The first condition we have been focusing on is Urinary Tract Infections (UTI’s), where we plan for our teams to attend cares homes and community settings to scan several individuals in attendance in a matter of minutes, with positive detections leading to those individuals seeking medical intervention following a confirmed diagnosis.