Barnwood Trust
Analysis
Barnwood Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Cheltenham. It was registered in July 2015, 11 years ago. Its declared purposes cover disability, which this site groups under disability. Legally it is a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO). It says it makes grants to individuals, makes grants to organisations and provides other finance.
In the financial year ending December 2025, Barnwood Trust reported income of £3.2m and spending of £9.2m, spending 285% of what it took in. Across the 5 years on record, from December 2021 to December 2025, income grew from £2.8m to £3.2m (+16%), an average of +3.7% a year. Over the whole period it spent 232% of the income it received.
Among 12,871 England and Wales charities whose main cause is disability and that reported income, Barnwood Trust sits at the 97th percentile: it is larger than about 97% 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 Wigan Link (£3.2m), Disability Challengers (£3.2m) and Thames Reach Housing (£3.2m).
In its latest detailed accounts, income came from investments 80% and charitable activities 19%. Charitable activities took 90% of spending and raising funds 3.9%. Grants to other organisations totalled £5.1m. Reserves of £81.2m would cover about 100 months of spending at that rate. It employed 36 people.
Data notes from the register: Spending has exceeded income in each of the last three reported years, so the charity has been drawing on reserves or other funds.
Income and spending
Where the income comes from
- Donations 0.5%
- Charitable activities 19%
- Investments 80%
- Other 0.4%
In the charity's own words
Barnwood acts as an agent of social change, working alongside disabled people and people with mental health conditions to create that change in Gloucestershire. We listen and learn. We fund. We influence. We take what we listen and learn into our decisions about funding and the changes we want to influence, and we use funding to support the influencing work we do.
Similar-sized charities, same cause
| Charity | Location | Income |
|---|---|---|
| Wigan Link | Wigan | £3.2m |
| Disability Challengers | Guildford | £3.2m |
| Thames Reach Housing | London | £3.2m |
| Step One Charity | Exeter | £3.3m |