Beacon Centre for the Blind

Analysis

Beacon Centre for the Blind is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Wolverhampton. It was registered in March 1964, 62 years ago. Its declared purposes cover general charitable purposes, education/training, the advancement of health or saving of lives and disability, which this site groups under health and saving lives. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 00710129). It says it makes grants to individuals, provides human resources and provides buildings/facilities/open space.

In the financial year ending March 2025, Beacon Centre for the Blind reported income of £2.7m and spending of £3.2m, spending 118% of what it took in. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2021 to March 2025, income grew from £2.3m to £2.7m (+17%), an average of +4.0% a year. Over the whole period it spent 115% of the income it received.

Among 24,651 England and Wales charities whose main cause is health and saving lives and that reported income, Beacon Centre for the Blind sits at the 94th percentile: it is larger than about 94% 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 Sustain: the Alliance for Better Food & Farming (£2.7m), Halton Haven Hospice (£2.7m) and Kusuma Trust UK (£2.7m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from charitable activities 59%, trading 26%, donations and legacies 12% and investments 3.8%. Gifts in wills alone brought in £212k. Charitable activities took 60% of spending and raising funds 39%. Reserves of £2.1m would cover about 8 months of spending at that rate. It employed 89 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.