Wessex Museums Trust

Analysis

Wessex Museums Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Bournemouth. It was registered in January 2017, 9 years ago. Its declared purposes cover 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 provides advocacy/advice/information and acts as an umbrella or resource body.

In the financial year ending March 2025, Wessex Museums Trust reported income of £488k and spending of £560k, spending 115% of what it took in. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2021 to March 2025, income grew from £57k to £488k (+761%), an average of +71% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to March 2024, when income rose by 440%. Over the whole period it spent 92% 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, Wessex Museums Trust sits at the 92nd percentile: it is larger than about 92% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 90th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Mayfield Grammar School Gravesend (£488k), Scarborough Theatre Development Trust (£489k) and School Library Association (£487k).