The cost of providing our hospice care in Somerset each year is close to £15m. While St Margaret’s Hospice receives some funding from the NHS, this only pays for approximately 30% of our care and the full range of our services. The remaining 70% of our hospice funding is raised thanks to the kindness and generosity of our community, through a variety of fundraising and commercial activities, including through our 31 charity shops. This means that each year, we must raise over £11m to support free hospice care for families in Somerset.
Could you help us continue to provide free, compassionate care across Somerset?
Our income streams
Fundraising
Whether it’s running a marathon, organising a coffee morning, or donating in memory of a loved one, our community are at the heart of our fundraising. Together we go the extra mile so that families can continue benefiting from our care when it matters most.
Grants
In addition to the funding we receive from the NHS, we also work with a range of trusts and foundations, as well as corporate grant makers to fund services and innovative projects that improve access to and the quality of hospice care for our community.
Lottery
Approximately 9,000 people play our Weekly Prize Draw each week, which means a guaranteed source of income for St Margaret’s and our players are in with a chance of winning a top prize of £1,000! In 2024, our Weekly Prize Draw contributed £437,903 towards the care of St Margaret’s patients and their families.
Retail
Our 31 charity shops are the pride of high streets and towns across Somerset, not just raising vital funds, but generating huge social value for the communities in which they operate. Last year they achieved record sales and contribute over £2m of profits towards sustaining our hospice care.
Legacies
One in three of our patients is cared for thanks to the generosity of people who leave gifts in their Wills to St Margaret’s. Each year these gifts total over £2.5m and mean that we can safeguard hospice care for future generations in Somerset.
Reserves
The hospice holds reserves as part of the strategy to manage financial risk to improve both the financial security and the operational sustainability of the organisation and to plan for the future. Free reserves are net assets excluding those that are subject to restriction or invested in fixed assets for charitable use. Free reserves do not include legacies that have been recognised but not yet been received.
During 2024/25 the hospice set up a working group of Trustees and Executive Directors to review the appropriate basis and level of reserves that are required, alongside the development of our new five-year strategy and a wider piece of work looking at risk management.
In developing a new policy, we have considered the main risks to the hospice and our future investment plans, rather than apply a calculation just based on covering 12 months of charitable expenditure. This includes how we tackle dips in income, fluctuations in working capital, costs related to unforeseen liabilities outside of budget, as well as investment in new services or assets, including seed funding in new business development opportunities that support sustainable income growth. The group also considered guidance from the Charity Commission and developed several potential scenarios and quantified what our reserves could potentially be used for.
The outcome was a judgement that free reserves of £7m to £9m should continue to be held by the hospice. This level of reserves would be sufficient to cover many of the risks that could occur even if some of them were experienced within a relatively short period of time. The appropriate level of reserves will be reviewed every six months and where necessary a plan developed as to how any adjustment can be achieved.
Further information about our reserves is included in our most recent set of audited accounts and a copy of our Reserves Policy is available on request.
Year in Review 2023-2024
The Year in Review highlights the collective achievements of the hospice over the last twelve months. It demonstrates how we have continued to put collaboration and partnership at the heart of what we do, so that we can extend our reach, and share our expertise so more people across Somerset benefit.