Friends of the South Downs

Analysis

Friends of the South Downs is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in West Sussex. It was registered in October 1963, 63 years ago. Its declared purposes cover general charitable purposes and environment/conservation/heritage, which this site groups under environment and conservation. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 00319437). It says it provides human resources and provides advocacy/advice/information.

In the financial year ending December 2025, Friends of the South Downs reported income of £156k and spending of £200k, spending 128% of what it took in. Across the 5 years on record, from December 2021 to December 2025, income grew from £108k to £156k (+45%), an average of +9.8% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to December 2022, when income rose by 113%. Over the whole period it spent 89% of the income it received.

Among 4,574 England and Wales charities whose main cause is environment and conservation and that reported income, Friends of the South Downs sits at the 82nd percentile: it is larger than about 82% 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 The Deltic Preservation Society Limited (£156k), The Friends of Holy Trinity Rayleigh (£157k) and The Yorkshire Dales Society (£156k).