The Lantern Community

Analysis

The Lantern Community is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Ringwood. It was registered in June 1999, 27 years ago. Its declared purposes cover general charitable purposes, education/training, disability and accommodation/housing, which this site groups under disability. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 03773749). It says it provides buildings/facilities/open space and provides services.

In the financial year ending March 2025, The Lantern Community reported income of £4.7m and spending of £3.9m, spending 85% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2021 to March 2025, income grew from £2.9m to £4.7m (+61%), an average of +13% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to March 2023, when income rose by 29%. Over the whole period it spent 92% of the income it received.

Among 12,871 England and Wales charities whose main cause is disability and that reported income, The Lantern Community sits at the 98th percentile: it is larger than about 98% 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 The Ace Centre-North (£4.6m), The Tower Project (£4.7m) and Faithful Companions of Jesus CIO (£4.6m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from charitable activities 87%, donations and legacies 9.5% and investments 3.2%. Gifts in wills alone brought in £76k. Charitable activities took 99% of spending and raising funds 0.4%. Reserves of £2.4m would cover about 7 months of spending at that rate. It employed 107 people.