The Sola Trust

Analysis

The Sola Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Bishop's Stortford. It was registered in June 1997, 29 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training, the prevention or relief of poverty and religious activities, which this site groups under poverty relief. Legally it is a charitable trust. It says it makes grants to individuals and makes grants to organisations.

In the financial year ending March 2025, The Sola Trust reported income of £1.2m and spending of £626k, leaving 48% of income unspent that year. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2021 to March 2025, income grew from £1.1m to £1.2m (+7.8%), an average of +1.9% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to March 2023, when income rose by 2222%. Over the whole period it spent 83% of the income it received.

Among 15,276 England and Wales charities whose main cause is poverty relief and that reported income, The Sola Trust sits at the 94th percentile: it is larger than about 94% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 94th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include The Winchester Project (£1.2m), The Irish Guards Charity (£1.2m) and Spitfire Advice and Support Services Ltd (£1.2m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from donations and legacies 99%. Charitable activities took 100% of spending and raising funds 0.0%. Grants to other organisations totalled £312k. Reserves of £952k would cover about 18 months of spending at that rate.