The MSPCA’s finances are looking healthy despite the challenge of wide fluctuations in income.

General manager Juana Warburton said the charity now has a surplus that would allow it to ‘build for the future’.

Latest accounts for the Manx Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, for the year ending December 2021, show quite a significant drop in some important income streams upon which it relies.

Donations were down from £679,951 in 2020 to £259,366 in 2021, while legacies and bequests fell from £279,818 to £118,427.

Grant income also fell from £122,495 to £42,572.

Income from boarding fees and rent went up and expenditure fell from £476,953 to £429,346.

The surplus for the financial year was well down on the previous year from £676,365 in 2020 to £167,323 in 2021.

But it still left the charity with a healthy balance of £2,687,037 to carry forward.

The surplus for 2022 will fund improvement works at Ard Jerkyll including new cattery pens and solar panels on the kennels’ roof.

Mrs Warburton said: ‘The drop in income can’t really be blamed on Covid, but is more an indication of how much incoming funds can fluctuate year-on-year.

‘The key point for me is that we “live within our means” – ending the year with a surplus and with a focus on costs (which were down in 2021 on the prior year).

‘It’s also really important for us to maintain various income streams so that we can cope when one area doesn’t perform as well as it has done, and we’re fortunate to have two great charity shops and the tearooms, as well as animal boarding.

‘We have a very proactive fundraising co-ordinator too.’

‘Our 2022 accounts are looking healthy, and we now have a surplus that enables us to look at some of the capital expenditure projects that need to be done here at Ard Jerkyll – new cattery pens and some solar panels on the kennels’ roof are top of the list.’

She added: ‘We can never be complacent about income, but it is good to be in a position where we can build for the future rather than worry about it.’

The MSPCA does not receive government funding either for rescuing or rehoming animals and so relies on donations and general income to keep going.

In previous years it has reported its finances being stretched to the full when it came to day-to-day running costs such a vets’ fees, animal food and salaries.

Covid restrictions and lockdowns meant little or no income from boarding and the tearooms at Ard Jerkyll and the two charity shops were badly affected.

The MSPCA marked its 120th anniversary in 2017. That same year it discovered it had inadvertently been overclaiming VAT for several years.

The charity now pays 20% VAT on most of its running costs.

Accounts for the year ending 2021 were filed at the end of June last year and made available from the charities administration on January 31.