Action with Communities in Rural England (Acre)

Analysis

Action with Communities in Rural England (Acre) is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Bristol. It was registered in March 1997, 29 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training, the prevention or relief of poverty, environment/conservation/heritage and economic/community development/employment, which this site groups under poverty relief. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 03336101). It says it provides services, provides advocacy/advice/information and acts as an umbrella or resource body.

In the financial year ending March 2025, Action with Communities in Rural England (Acre) reported income of £5.0m and spending of £5.1m, spending 101% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2021 to March 2025, income grew from £2.1m to £5.0m (+137%), an average of +24% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to March 2024, when income rose by 134%. Over the whole period it spent 115% of the income it received.

Among 15,276 England and Wales charities whose main cause is poverty relief and that reported income, Action with Communities in Rural England (Acre) sits at the 99th percentile: it is larger than about 99% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 98th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Northumbrian Citizens Advice Bureau (£5.0m), Shulem B. Association Limited (£5.1m) and Oxfordshire Community Churches (£5.0m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from charitable activities 100%. Charitable activities took 98% of spending and raising funds 0.2%. Grants to other organisations totalled £4.5m. Reserves of £537k would cover about 1 months of spending at that rate. It employed 5 people.