Above Bar Church

Analysis

Above Bar Church is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Southampton. It was registered in August 2009, 17 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training, the prevention or relief of poverty, overseas aid/famine relief and religious activities, which this site groups under poverty relief. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 06959469). It says it makes grants to individuals, makes grants to organisations and provides human resources.

In the financial year ending March 2025, Above Bar Church reported income of £1.2m and spending of £980k, spending 83% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2021 to March 2025, income grew from £1.0m to £1.2m (+14%), an average of +3.2% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to March 2023, when income rose by 108%. Over the whole period it spent 98% of the income it received.

Among 15,276 England and Wales charities whose main cause is poverty relief and that reported income, Above Bar Church 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 94th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Chelmsford Citizens Advice Bureau (£1.2m), Emmaus Greenwich (£1.2m) and The East to West Trust (£1.2m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from donations and legacies 95% and investments 3.9%. Gifts in wills alone brought in £213k. Charitable activities took 98% of spending and raising funds 0.0%. Grants to other organisations totalled £41k. Reserves of £768k would cover about 9 months of spending at that rate. It employed 18 people.