The Cole Charitable Trust

Analysis

The Cole Charitable Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Cambridge. It was registered in May 1972, 54 years ago. Its declared purposes cover general charitable purposes, education/training, disability and the prevention or relief of poverty, which this site groups under disability. Legally it is a charitable trust. It says it makes grants to organisations.

In the financial year ending April 2025, The Cole Charitable Trust reported income of £144k and spending of £267k, spending 185% of what it took in. Across the 5 years on record, from April 2021 to April 2025, income grew from £119k to £144k (+21%), an average of +4.9% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to April 2022, when income rose by 26%. Over the whole period it spent 163% of the income it received.

Among 12,871 England and Wales charities whose main cause is disability and that reported income, The Cole Charitable Trust sits at the 71st percentile: it is larger than about 71% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 76th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Aldag (Always Learning Developing and Growing) (£144k), Al Khair Welfare Trust (£144k) and 4Youth (South West) (£144k).

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.