A REDLANDS volunteer charity has revealed it is building significant financial reserves as it works toward establishing a permanent drop-in centre to support vulnerable residents.
Night Ninjas total trading income for the year ended June 30, 2025, reached $205,273, more than double last year’s figure of $88,284.55 and nearly four times that of 2023.
Total expenses reached $57,863.
Net profit for the year stood at $147,410, almost triple last year’s result.
Treasurer Mitchell O’Connor said the difference largely reflected grant funding that had been used to expand the charity’s outreach capability.
“A large portion ($103K) were grant revenue related,” Mr O’Connor said.
“These funds were primarily used to purchase a second van which now allows us to service Redland Bay as well as Cleveland and Birkdale.”
He said the organisation’s operating costs remained low because the charity was entirely volunteer run.
“Keep in mind we pay no wages at all — 100 per cent volunteer based — so this allows us to keep our overheads as lean as possible,” he said.
According to the charity’s financial information, its income during the 2024-25 financial year came from several sources including $103,330 in grants, $91,525 in donations, $72 in volunteer membership fees and $10,346 in interest income.
The organisation reported cash and equivalents of $326,025, receivables of $2,567 and assets valued at $107,037, bringing total retained earnings to $435,630.
Mr O’Connor said the growing reserves were being directed toward the charity’s long-term vision of creating a dedicated drop-in centre for those needing support in the Redlands.
“These will go towards our long-term goal of establishing a drop-in centre,” he said.
“We would see this being a space shared with our volunteers, clients and other services that could assist the most vulnerable in our Redlands community.”
However, he said the charity still needed to grow its reserves before such a project could become reality.
“At this stage our cash reserves are not enough to fund the acquisition of a drop-in centre — so we need to continue to grow this,” Mr O’Connor said.
“Whilst we continue to expand our outreach in the community and will continue to do so as needed, our long-term vision still remains for the drop-in centre.”
Night Ninjas operates across the Redlands providing food and other support to people experiencing hardship.
Mr O’Connor also clarified the organisation’s approach to food donations, noting the group works with several local businesses as drop-off points for non-perishable items.
Donations must still be within their use-by dates, with the charity regularly updating a wish list through its social media channels.
Due to food safety regulations, the organisation cannot accept leftover food from corporate functions or similar events.
Fresh produce can sometimes be accepted, Mr O’Connor said, but this was assessed on a case-by-case basis to ensure it could be distributed quickly.
“We like to ensure that there is an end user for this before we accept it to make sure these resources support as many as possible,” he said.
