Dorset Community Foundation
Analysis
Dorset Community Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Poole. It was registered in December 2007, 19 years ago. Its declared purposes cover general charitable purposes, education/training, the advancement of health or saving of lives and disability, which this site groups under health and saving lives. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 05768612). It says it makes grants to organisations and provides other finance.
In the financial year ending March 2025, Dorset Community Foundation reported income of £2.6m and spending of £2.2m, spending 83% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2021 to March 2025, income grew from £1.7m to £2.6m (+57%), an average of +12% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to March 2025, when income rose by 97%. Over the whole period it spent 98% of the income it received.
Among 24,651 England and Wales charities whose main cause is health and saving lives and that reported income, Dorset Community Foundation sits at the 94th percentile: it is larger than about 94% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 97th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include St Mark's Hospital Foundation (£2.6m), Green Light Trust (£2.7m) and Middlesbrough Football Club Foundation (£2.6m).
In its latest detailed accounts, income came from charitable activities 56%, donations and legacies 38% and investments 6.4%. Charitable activities took 99% of spending and raising funds 0.9%. Grants to other organisations totalled £1.7m. Reserves of £405k would cover about 2 months of spending at that rate. It employed 5 people.
Income and spending
Where the income comes from
- Donations 38%
- Charitable activities 56%
- Investments 6.4%
In the charity's own words
THE FOUNDATION WORKS WITH INDIVIDUALS, COMPANIES AND OTHER ORGANISATIONS TO ASSIST IN DELIVERING THEIR CHARITABLE AIMS, AND DEVELOP LONGER-TERM STRATEGIC PHILANTHROPY PROGRAMMES. THIS WORK ENABLES THE FOUNDATION TO DISTRIBUTE GRANT FUNDING TO DORSET BASED COMMUNITY GROUPS AND CHARITIES THAT PROVIDE SERVICES AND SUPPORT TO PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES WITHIN BOURNEMOUTH, POOLE AND ACROSS DORSET.
Similar-sized charities, same cause
| Charity | Location | Income |
|---|---|---|
| St Mark's Hospital Foundation | London | £2.6m |
| Green Light Trust | Bury St Edmunds | £2.7m |
| Middlesbrough Football Club Foundation | Cleveland | £2.6m |
| The Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul CIO | London | £2.7m |