The Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust

Analysis

The Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Surrey. It was registered in June 1969, 57 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training, the prevention or relief of poverty and economic/community development/employment, which this site groups under poverty relief. Legally it is a charitable trust. It says it makes grants to individuals and makes grants to organisations.

In the financial year ending March 2025, The Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust reported income of £936k and spending of £5.7m, spending 611% of what it took in. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2021 to March 2025, income grew from £810k to £936k (+15%), an average of +3.7% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to March 2023, when income rose by 30%. Over the whole period it spent 431% of the income it received.

Among 15,276 England and Wales charities whose main cause is poverty relief and that reported income, The Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust sits at the 92nd percentile: it is larger than about 92% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 93rd percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include The Boaz Trust (£934k), Power to Change Trust (£938k) and South London Refugee Association (£934k).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from investments 100%. Charitable activities took 94% of spending and raising funds 4.4%. Grants to other organisations totalled £5.0m. It employed 6 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.