The Belling Charitable Settlement

Analysis

The Belling Charitable Settlement is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Sawbridgeworth. It was registered in December 1964, 62 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training, the prevention or relief of poverty and arts/culture/heritage/science, which this site groups under poverty relief. Legally it is a charitable trust. It says it makes grants to individuals, makes grants to organisations and provides other finance.

In the financial year ending December 2025, The Belling Charitable Settlement reported income of £410k and spending of £432k, spending 105% of what it took in. Across the 5 years on record, from December 2021 to December 2025, income grew from £37k to £410k (+993%), an average of +82% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to December 2023, when income rose by 342%. Over the whole period it spent 163% of the income it received.

Among 15,276 England and Wales charities whose main cause is poverty relief and that reported income, The Belling Charitable Settlement sits at the 85th percentile: it is larger than about 85% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 88th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include St Leonard's Hospital (£410k), Agudas Israel Organisation of Great Britain (£410k) and The Royal Air Force Dependants Fund (£409k).

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.