Wales Council for Voluntary Action

Analysis

Wales Council for Voluntary Action is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Cardiff. It was registered in May 1963, 63 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 00425299). It says it makes grants to organisations, provides other finance and provides advocacy/advice/information.

In the financial year ending March 2025, Wales Council for Voluntary Action reported income of £36.6m and spending of £34.6m, spending 95% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2021 to March 2025, income fell from £51.0m to £36.6m (-28%), an average of -7.9% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to March 2022, when income dropped by 23%. Over the whole period it spent 94% 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, Wales Council for Voluntary Action sits at the 100th 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 100th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Blackrock Charities Funds (£34.8m), Royal Voluntary Service (£41.5m) and The February Foundation (£34.3m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from charitable activities 94%, investments 3.9% and trading 2.5%. Charitable activities took 98% of spending and raising funds 1.9%. Grants to other organisations totalled £29.3m. Reserves of £13.0m would cover about 5 months of spending at that rate. It employed 79 people.