The Varkey Foundation

Analysis

The Varkey Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in London. It was registered in December 2011, 15 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training and the prevention or relief of poverty, which this site groups under poverty relief. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 07774287). It says it makes grants to individuals, makes grants to organisations and provides human resources.

In the financial year ending March 2025, The Varkey Foundation reported income of £4.4m and spending of £4.4m, spending 99% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2021 to March 2025, income grew from £2.4m to £4.4m (+83%), an average of +16% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to March 2024, when income rose by 90%. Over the whole period it spent 115% of the income it received.

Among 15,276 England and Wales charities whose main cause is poverty relief and that reported income, The Varkey Foundation sits at the 98th percentile: it is larger than about 98% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 98th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Givedirectly UK (£4.4m), The Little Way Association (£4.4m) and Perenco Foundation (£4.4m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from charitable activities 70%, donations and legacies 23% and trading 7.2%. Charitable activities took 99% of spending and raising funds 0.0%. Reserves of £629k would cover about 2 months of spending at that rate. It employed 29 people.