The Cobalt Trust

Analysis

The Cobalt Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Bath. It was registered in March 2003, 23 years ago. Its declared purposes cover general charitable purposes, which this site groups under grant-making and general purposes. Legally it is a charitable trust. It says it makes grants to organisations.

In the financial year ending March 2025, The Cobalt Trust reported income of £654k and spending of £784k, spending 120% of what it took in. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2021 to March 2025, income fell from £762k to £654k (-14%), an average of -3.8% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to March 2024, when income rose by 79%. Over the whole period it spent 104% of the income it received.

Among 5,976 England and Wales charities whose main cause is grant-making and general purposes and that reported income, The Cobalt Trust sits at the 93rd percentile: it is larger than about 93% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 92nd percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Alan Boswell Group Charitable Trust (£652k), The Leslie and Doris Seccombe Charitable Trust (£656k) and Flintshire Local Voluntary Council (£651k).

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 £783k.

Data notes from the register: Spending has exceeded income in each of the last three reported years, so the charity has been drawing on reserves or other funds.