Founders Pledge Ltd

Analysis

Founders Pledge Ltd is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in London. It was registered in June 2015, 11 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 company (Companies House number 08565148). It says it makes grants to individuals, makes grants to organisations and provides human resources.

In the financial year ending December 2025, Founders Pledge Ltd reported income of £331.0m and spending of £250.0m, leaving 24% of income unspent that year. Across the 5 years on record, from December 2021 to December 2025, income grew from £41.8m to £331.0m (+692%), an average of +68% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to December 2024, when income rose by 121%. Over the whole period it spent 76% of the income it received.

Among 21,402 England and Wales charities whose main cause is education and training and that reported income, Founders Pledge Ltd sits at the 100th 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 100th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Swansea University (£325.6m), Canterbury Christ Church University (£353.8m) and St Michael's School (Leigh-On-Sea) Limited (£288.8m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from donations and legacies 98% and investments 1.7%. Charitable activities took 97% of spending and raising funds 0.0%. Grants to other organisations totalled £240.8m. Reserves of £16.7m would cover about 1 months of spending at that rate. It employed 72 people.