The Sonning Trust

Analysis

The Sonning Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Southampton. It was registered in November 1971, 55 years ago. Its declared purposes cover the advancement of health or saving of lives, the prevention or relief of poverty, overseas aid/famine relief and accommodation/housing, which this site groups under health and saving lives. Legally it is a charitable trust. It says it makes grants to individuals, makes grants to organisations and provides human resources.

In the financial year ending December 2025, The Sonning Trust reported income of £13k and spending of £14k, spending 102% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from December 2021 to December 2025, income fell from £15k to £13k (-12%), an average of -3.0% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to December 2023, when income rose by 321%. Over the whole period it spent 114% of the income it received.

Among 24,651 England and Wales charities whose main cause is health and saving lives and that reported income, The Sonning Trust sits at the 31st percentile: it is larger than about 31% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 36th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Burgess Hill Shed (£13k), Kalgidhar Sikhi Parchar Society (£13k) and British Association of Clinicians in ME/CFS (BACME) (£13k).

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.