The Barbados and Friends Association (Reading Area)

Analysis

The Barbados and Friends Association (Reading Area) is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Reading. It was registered in February 2004, 22 years ago. Its declared purposes cover general charitable purposes, education/training, arts/culture/heritage/science and environment/conservation/heritage, which this site groups under arts, culture, heritage and science. It says it makes grants to individuals, makes grants to organisations and provides human resources.

In the financial year ending March 2025, The Barbados and Friends Association (Reading Area) reported income of £16k and spending of £12k, leaving 28% of income unspent that year. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2021 to March 2025, income grew from £202 to £16k (+7807%), an average of +198% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to March 2024, when income rose by 1468%. Over the whole period it spent 86% of the income it received.

Among 17,634 England and Wales charities whose main cause is arts, culture, heritage and science and that reported income, The Barbados and Friends Association (Reading Area) sits at the 43rd percentile: it is larger than about 43% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 40th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Dudley Little Theatre (£16k), The East Riding of Yorkshire Band (£16k) and Eye Bach Choir (£16k).