The Ecology Trust

Analysis

The Ecology Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Reading. It was registered in September 2003, 23 years ago. Its declared purposes cover general charitable purposes, the prevention or relief of poverty and environment/conservation/heritage, 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 Ecology Trust reported income of £2.0m and spending of £1.9m, spending 94% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2021 to March 2025, income grew from £676k to £2.0m (+202%), an average of +32% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to March 2024, when income rose by 94%. Over the whole period it spent 82% of the income it received.

Among 15,276 England and Wales charities whose main cause is poverty relief and that reported income, The Ecology 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 96th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Sussex Emmaus (£2.0m), Money Advice and Community Support Service (£2.0m) and The Sam Pegram Humanitarian Foundation (£2.0m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from donations and legacies 100%. Charitable activities took 100% of spending and raising funds 0.0%. Grants to other organisations totalled £1.5m. Reserves of £15k would cover about 0 months of spending at that rate. It employed 3 people.