The Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust

Analysis

The Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Lancaster. It was registered in April 1997, 29 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training, environment/conservation/heritage and economic/community development/employment, which this site groups under environment and conservation. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 03236813). It says it makes grants to individuals, makes grants to organisations and provides services.

In the financial year ending March 2025, The Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust reported income of £2.4m and spending of £2.3m, spending 95% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2021 to March 2025, income grew from £1.7m to £2.4m (+38%), an average of +8.4% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to March 2024, when income rose by 18%. Over the whole period it spent 96% of the income it received.

Among 4,574 England and Wales charities whose main cause is environment and conservation and that reported income, The Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust sits at the 96th percentile: it is larger than about 96% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 97th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (£2.4m), The Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust (£2.4m) and South Downs National Park Trust (£2.3m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from donations and legacies 76%, charitable activities 19%, trading 3.7% and investments 1.6%. Gifts in wills alone brought in £434k. Charitable activities took 84% of spending and raising funds 14%. Grants to other organisations totalled £336k. Reserves of £852k would cover about 4 months of spending at that rate. It employed 33 people.