The Michael Cowan Foundation

Analysis

The Michael Cowan Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in London. It was registered in July 2010, 16 years ago. Its declared purposes cover general charitable purposes and education/training, which this site groups under education and training. Legally it is a charitable trust. It says it makes grants to individuals, makes grants to organisations and sponsors or undertakes research.

In the financial year ending December 2024, The Michael Cowan Foundation reported income of £2.0m and spending of £1.3m, leaving 37% of income unspent that year. Across the 4 years on record, from December 2021 to December 2024, income grew from £21k to £2.0m (+9775%), an average of +362% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to December 2023, when income rose by 32951%. Over the whole period it spent 32% of the income it received.

Among 21,402 England and Wales charities whose main cause is education and training and that reported income, The Michael Cowan Foundation sits at the 95th percentile: it is larger than about 95% 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 Local Information Unit Limited (£2.0m), The Rainbow Centre (Marham) (£2.0m) and The Salisbury Diocesan Board of Education (£2.0m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from donations and legacies 98% and investments 2.2%. Charitable activities took 99% of spending and raising funds 0.0%. Grants to other organisations totalled £1.2m. Reserves of £1.5m would cover about 14 months of spending at that rate.

Data notes from the register: The regulator lists this charity's latest annual return or accounts as overdue.