Rhodes Trust - Public Purposes Fund

Analysis

Rhodes Trust - Public Purposes Fund is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Oxford. It was registered in February 1966, 60 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training, which this site groups under education and training. It says it makes grants to individuals and makes grants to organisations.

In the financial year ending June 2025, Rhodes Trust - Public Purposes Fund reported income of £34.1m and spending of £62.6m, spending 183% of what it took in. Across the 5 years on record, from June 2021 to June 2025, income grew from £23.0m to £34.1m (+48%), an average of +10% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to June 2024, when income rose by 45%. Over the whole period it spent 196% of the income it received.

Among 21,402 England and Wales charities whose main cause is education and training and that reported income, Rhodes Trust - Public Purposes Fund 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 Hospice UK (£34.1m), The Leys and St Faith's Schools Foundation (£34.4m) and The Stephen Perse Foundation (£33.9m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from charitable activities 58%, donations and legacies 25%, investments 11% and trading 5.6%. Charitable activities took 89% of spending and raising funds 11%. Grants to other organisations totalled £380k. Reserves of £11.5m would cover about 2 months of spending at that rate. It employed 150 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.