The Brothers of the First Order of the Society of St Francis

Analysis

The Brothers of the First Order of the Society of St Francis is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Dorchester. It was registered in January 1969, 57 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training, the prevention or relief of poverty, overseas aid/famine relief and religious activities, which this site groups under poverty relief. It says it provides human resources, provides services and other charitable activities.

In the financial year ending June 2025, The Brothers of the First Order of the Society of St Francis reported income of £1.3m and spending of £1.0m, leaving 22% of income unspent that year. Across the 5 years on record, from June 2021 to June 2025, income grew from £713k to £1.3m (+81%), an average of +16% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to June 2022, when income rose by 84%. Over the whole period it spent 80% of the income it received.

Among 15,276 England and Wales charities whose main cause is poverty relief and that reported income, The Brothers of the First Order of the Society of St Francis 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 95th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include The National House Project (£1.3m), Torridge, North, Mid and West Devon Citizens Advice Bureau (£1.3m) and Trumros Limited (£1.3m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from donations and legacies 64%, investments 10% and trading 2.7%. Gifts in wills alone brought in £235k. Charitable activities took 93% of spending and raising funds 1.8%. Grants to other organisations totalled £21k. Reserves of £639k would cover about 7 months of spending at that rate. It employed 1 people.