Issa Foundation

Analysis

Issa Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Blackburn. It was registered in March 2016, 10 years ago. Its declared purposes cover general charitable purposes, which this site groups under grant-making and general purposes. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 09982930). It says it makes grants to individuals and makes grants to organisations.

In the financial year ending December 2025, Issa Foundation reported income of £8.0m and spending of £3.3m, leaving 59% of income unspent that year. Across the 5 years on record, from December 2021 to December 2025, income grew from £11k to £8.0m (+74874%), an average of +423% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to December 2022, when income rose by 37337%. Over the whole period it spent 88% of the income it received.

Among 5,976 England and Wales charities whose main cause is grant-making and general purposes and that reported income, Issa Foundation sits at the 99th 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 99th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include The Exilarch's Foundation (£8.0m), The Tolkien Trust (£8.1m) and Kindgiving Foundation (£7.7m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from donations and legacies 95% and investments 2.8%. Charitable activities took 83% of spending and raising funds 0.0%. Grants to other organisations totalled £2.6m. Reserves of £31.5m would cover about 94 months of spending at that rate. It employed 34 people.