Vetlife

Registered charity 224776 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as VETERINARY BENEVOLENT FUND, VICTORIA VETERINARY BENEVOLENT FUND

Provides financial assistance to deserving veterinary surgeons, RVNs and their dependants; provides a helpline and website for veterinary surgeons, students and nurses; provides for the relief of mental and physical illness, associated with compulsive behaviour or stress or depression, which may or may not result from alcohol or drug addiction or other forms of dependence.

Objects

4. The object for which the Fund is established is the relief of the charitable needs of veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses and their relatives or dependants in particular by:(a) providing financial and other assistance to deserving veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses resident in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man who are in need and are or have been included on the Register of Veterinary Surgeons, or the Register of Veterinary Nurses held by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons;(b) providing financial and other assistance to the deserving relatives and dependants of deceased and retired veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses. In this sub-clause “relatives or dependants” will include such persons as the Directors shall from time to time determine;(c) providing a helpline for veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses and their relatives or dependants, and for undergraduate veterinary surgeons and student veterinary nurses enrolled on a UK veterinary degree programme, who seek help on health or other social problems;(d) providing for the relief of mental and physical illness, associated with compulsive behaviour or stress or depression, which may or may not result from alcohol or drug addiction or other forms of dependence, in order to allow veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses to continue with their professional duties and safeguard the public interest; (e) raising awareness of the problems in the veterinary professions associated with mental and depressive disease, drug and alcohol abuse and other forms of compulsive behaviour; and(f) carrying out or funding research in furtherance of the Fund’s charitable objects.

Area of benefit: NOT DEFINED

The charity’s charitable objects and area of benefit, quoted from its governing document as held on the Charity Commission register.

Causes: The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives · The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty · Accommodation/housing · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Westminster, London, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that Vetlife remains in a sound financial position with total unrestricted reserves of £10.7 million, significantly exceeding the policy target of £407,000. Although the charity reported an operating deficit of £113,612, this was offset by substantial unrealised investment gains of £1.25 million, resulting in a net increase in funds. The trustees attribute the reserves buffer to market volatility and increasing demand for services, confirming the charity is well-capitalised to continue its operations.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by Buzzacott Audit LLP. Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

Policies the charity declares

In its annual return the charity told the Commission that it has the policies listed below. This is self-declared: it is not verified by the Commission or by this site, and it is not evidence of how a policy works in practice.

• Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
• Complaints handling
• Complaints policy and procedures
• Conflicting interests
• Engaging external speakers at charity events policy and procedures
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Investing charity funds policy and procedures
• Investment
• Paying staff
• Risk management
• Safeguarding policy and procedures
• Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
• Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
• Social media policy and procedures
• Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
• Trustee expenses policy and procedures
• Volunteer management

From the charity’s annual return (Part A, self-declared)

Answers and figures the charity gave in Part A of its annual return to the Charity Commission. They are self-declared: not verified by the Commission or by this site. Only positive answers and figures are listed; items not listed are simply not shown.

Source: this charity’s annual returns on the Charity Commission register.

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Vetlife (matched by registered charity number).

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/12/2025)

Reported reserves equal ~4.0 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 4.7 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 23.4% of total income — in the top quarter for charities its size (median 5.3%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

• Dr ELIZABETH ANNE BARTON
• Dr John Rogers Chitty · trustee of 2 other charities
• Dr Kelly Blacklock
• Dr Lynne Gaskarth
• Dr Mark Moreton
• Emma Margaret Callaghan
• Hannah Jane Sampson
• James Simon Russell
• Josephine Ann Oakden
• Paul Graham Horwood
• Robyn Jane Lowe
• Susan Jane Little

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: Northern Ireland · Scotland · Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Common questions

Known funders

Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.

Funders of similar charities

Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with VETERANS WITH DOGS.

• VETERANS WITH DOGS income £380k
• STREETVET income £1.1m
• VETERANS AID income £2.2m
• THE WILDLIFE AID FOUNDATION income £2.1m
• THE ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGE ANIMAL CARE TRUST income £1.3m
• EACH COUNSELLING AND SUPPORT income £2.2m

Side by side with its peers

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.