The Waterloo Foundation

Analysis

The Waterloo Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Cardiff. It was registered in January 2007, 19 years ago. Its declared purposes cover general charitable purposes, disability, the prevention or relief of poverty and overseas aid/famine relief, which this site groups under disability. Legally it is a charitable trust. It says it makes grants to individuals and makes grants to organisations.

In the financial year ending December 2025, The Waterloo Foundation reported income of £15.5m and spending of £16.2m, spending 104% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from December 2021 to December 2025, income grew from £14.3m to £15.5m (+7.8%), an average of +1.9% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to December 2025, when income rose by 38%. Over the whole period it spent 106% of the income it received.

Among 12,871 England and Wales charities whose main cause is disability and that reported income, The Waterloo Foundation sits at the 99th percentile: it is one of the largest 1% in its cause. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 99th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Novalis Trust (£15.3m), Autism Unlimited Limited (£15.6m) and Apasen (£15.0m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from investments 57% and donations and legacies 43%. Charitable activities took 97% of spending and raising funds 3.2%. Grants to other organisations totalled £15.4m. Reserves of £241.1m would cover about 179 months of spending at that rate. It employed 10 people.

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.