Dementia Support Line
Trustees' Annual Report
& Financial Statements 2022/23
Read the full version of our Trustees' Annual Report & Financial Statements 2022/23
“Due to your efforts, we’ve managed to build even further on our position as the UK’s largest charity giving a voice to those living with dementia.”
- Stephen Hill OBE, Chair of Trustees
“2022/23 has given us the confidence and resolve to go forward, faster, bigger and better in order the make dementia the priority it needs to be across the three nations.”
- Kate Lee, Chief Executive
Our year in numbers
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Our total fundraising income, making 2022/23 our second most successful fundraising year.
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The number of people reached directly through our services, nearly a 6% growth from 2021/22.
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Dementia Talking Point, our online community, received 1.3 million visits in 2022.
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Invested in dementia research throughout 2022/23.
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Early career researchers we have supported throughout 2022/23 with 25 different grants.
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The number of times our Dementia Directory was accessed in 2022/23 to give people living with dementia vital information.
Income: In 2022/23 we earned £118.1 million.
Donations and legacies £87.7 million
- Legacies £39.3 million
- Individual Giving £15.2 million
- Corporate £1.9 million
- Philanthropy £6.0 million
- Community Fundraising £25.3 million
Other grants £0.9 million
Income from grants includes grants issued by the Government, public bodies, and other parties for specific purposes.
Contracted income £24.0 million
Income from our contracts with local authorities to deliver dementia support services.
Trading and other activities £4.5 million
This includes sales from our online shop, Christmas cards, entries into events and raffles, licensing fees and royalties.
Investment income £1.0 million
Income earned from our investment portfolio such as dividends from shareholdings.
Expenditure: In 2022/23 we spent £121.3 million.
Support £40.3 million
Activities to support people affected by dementia by delivering services and working with the health and social care system to improve dementia care. This includes the costs of services we run such as our Dementia Support Line and the costs incurred delivering our contracts with local authorities.
Influencing £12.0 million
Activities to influence the health and care agenda to highlight the inequalities faced by people affected by dementia in everyday living, particularly the inequalities faced by many in the healthcare system.
Research £17.4 million
Activities to support dementia research and make sure people affected by dementia are at the forefront of this research. This includes a portfolio of active research projects, our contributions to the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI), and our innovation programme – a way to develop and deliver solutions to the challenges of people affected by dementia quickly and effectively.
Raising funds £35.7 million
These are the costs of our fundraising team and the activities they undertake such as running events, design and materials for promotional materials, our dedicated customer care service, and the services of our marketing and media partners who help to promote our fundraising activities to our supporters.
Indirect costs and governance £15.9 million
These are the costs of running the Society including the pay costs of support staff in human resources, finance and corporate resources teams, estates costs, IT and technology running costs, and costs of the governance of the organisation such as audit and other professional fees. These costs are allocated to the above categories in Note 3 of our accounts.
Our Help and Hope Strategy (2022-27).
One in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia in their lifetime. Our Help and Hope Strategy will help us to:
- Grow our reach including improving how our services are delivered in the years ahead and ensuring our digital services can reach as many people as possible.
- Work towards early diagnosis by helping people get an accurate and timely dementia diagnosis and access to the right support.
- Increase our impact by deepening our understanding of what makes the biggest difference to people living with dementia and making sure we’re reaching underserved communities.
We don’t feel alone on this journey. Nobody must be afraid of asking for help if they need it.
In 2019, Pauline Nowell was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. Together with her wife, Hilary, they contacted Alzheimer’s Society and found the support they both needed.
Read morePauline and Hilary’s story
‘Two years after we got married Pauline was diagnosed. She knew that
things were not quite right. She had been the Director of Social Services and was used
to helping others, not being the one needing help. The diagnosis was
a shock, even though we both expected it.’
Pauline and Hilary met and fell in love in 1955. In the UK at the time, being
gay was illegal for men and same sex marriage didn’t exist. They exchanged rings and
made a commitment to each other in 1970, but weren’t
legally married until 2017.
‘We’ve battled and battled everything along the way,’ explains Hilary. ‘Pauline
doesn’t want it to be something that, after all these years, breaks us. So many people
that have dementia think that there’s nothing
for them and the help isn’t there. But the help is there.
Maggie, our Dementia Advisor, is also gay and I felt it was much easier to open
up to someone who really understood our relationship.
We were introduced to an Alzheimer’s Society service called Singing for the
Brain, and we find that an enormous support. We are surrounded with love and kindness.
There is another couple we’re friends with at Singing for the Brain. At one
session the husband turned to me and said, ‘you’d never know they have dementia, would
you?’. That’s why we love going.
We don’t feel alone on this journey. Nobody must be afraid of asking for help
if they need it.
We’ve no doubts that Alzheimer’s Society are behind us. Maggie, our dementia
adviser, was there to offer us any help and advice. We just knew she was there for us,
and she really understood our relationship.’
In 2019, Pauline Nowell was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. Together with her wife, Hilary, they contacted Alzheimer’s Society and found the support they both needed.