Isle of Wight Literary Festival

Analysis

Isle of Wight Literary Festival is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Cowes. It was registered in December 2015, 11 years ago. Its declared purposes cover general charitable purposes, education/training and arts/culture/heritage/science, which this site groups under arts, culture, heritage and science. Legally it is a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO). It says it acts as an umbrella or resource body.

In the financial year ending December 2025, Isle of Wight Literary Festival reported income of £155k and spending of £146k, spending 95% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from December 2021 to December 2025, income grew from £24k to £155k (+536%), an average of +59% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to December 2022, when income rose by 222%. Over the whole period it spent 95% of the income it received.

Among 17,634 England and Wales charities whose main cause is arts, culture, heritage and science and that reported income, Isle of Wight Literary Festival sits at the 83rd percentile: it is larger than about 83% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 77th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Exaudi (£154k), The Trust for Sing for Pleasure (£155k) and Handmade Theatre (£154k).