Pilotlight

Analysis

Pilotlight is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in London. It was registered in December 1996, 30 years ago. Its declared purposes cover general charitable purposes, the prevention or relief of poverty and economic/community development/employment, which this site groups under poverty relief. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 03270679). It says it provides human resources and provides advocacy/advice/information.

In the financial year ending December 2025, Pilotlight reported income of £1.5m and spending of £1.6m, spending 105% of what it took in. Across the 5 years on record, from December 2021 to December 2025, income grew from £1.2m to £1.5m (+23%), an average of +5.2% a year. Over the whole period it spent 108% of the income it received.

Among 15,276 England and Wales charities whose main cause is poverty relief and that reported income, Pilotlight sits at the 95th percentile: it is larger than about 95% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 95th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include The George Muller Charitable Trust (£1.5m), The Isaiah Project (£1.5m) and Cornwall Neighbourhoods for Change Limited (£1.5m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from charitable activities 87%, donations and legacies 9.6% and investments 3.1%. Charitable activities took 96% of spending and raising funds 4.5%. Reserves of £741k would cover about 6 months of spending at that rate. It employed 22 people.