How did we fare in 2011 – a year when sea conditions and the economic climate were equally challenging? Supporters, volunteers and staff gathered to find out the latest facts and figures

Speaking at our AGM on 17 May, Chairman Admiral the Lord Boyce (pictured below) reported that our lifesavers had shown their commitment and courage time after time. Lifeboat crews rescued nearly 8,000 people, and lifeguards aided over 17,500. ‘So that’s how we’ve been securing futures at sea, but what about securing the future of our charity?’

Mike Boyce went on to explain: ‘Using a methodology called Lean, we set out to reduce waste, improve efficiency and save money.

And it’s working, because we have made cost savings of £8.4M. A huge saving, nearly 5% in fact, that we will go on to make every year.’

‘This is despite a few years of heavy inflation, expanding our lifeguarding service, and building a stream of new lifeboats and lifeboat stations. We are squeezing every last halfpenny’s-worth of value out of the funds that our donors give us. We have made sure the charity is agile and ready for anything, whatever the climate.'

And what about income, the other half of the equation? Mike highlighted the superb generosity of donors and hard work of fundraisers: ‘Thanks to them, raised voluntary income reached £52.2M in 2011. Legacies reached £97.7M last year, thanks to those people who remembered the RNLI in their Wills.

‘Every pound and euro donated is essential, as equipping and training lifesavers to cover 19,000 miles of coastline has a huge cost attached, more than £140M.

Lord Boyce concluded by thanking people like you, our readers, for your role in keeping the RNLI afloat. ‘I would like to pay tribute to you,’ he said, ‘for all you have done to secure the future of this lifesaving charity – and the futures of all those rescued last year.’

Income: £162.9M
Legacies £97.7M
Fundraised income £52.2M
Net investment income £4.0M
Net merchandising and other trading £5.4M
Lifeguarding and other income £3.6M
Revenue expenditure: £140.6M
Rescue £65.4M
Operational maintenance £43.0M
Cost of generating voluntary income £22.8M
Prevention (coastal safety) £4.3M
Innovation (lifeboat design) £4.4M
International £0.2M
Lifeboat stations £10.9M
Lifeboats and launching equipment £17.0M
Other equipment/property £3.9M
Capital expenditure: £31.8M

(Capital expenditure represents payments made for any
assets of an enduring nature costing over £10,000 each.)

HOW WE SPEND DONATIONS
It costs us over £140M each year to run our lifesaving service and, in 2011, we also spent over £30M on capital items such as lifeboats and lifeboat stations.

2011 FINANCIAL SUMMARY
Despite the tough financial climate, the RNLI achieved a surplus of income over expenditure of £22.3M, which, together with investment growth of £3.5M, has already been committed to fund our capital expenditure on lifeboats and lifeboat stations for the future.
• Free reserves stood at £93.6M at the end of 2011,
equivalent to just 9 months’ expenditure.
• In 2011 the RNLI paid the UK Government
£2M in irrecoverable VAT.