The Public Purposes Charity

Analysis

The Public Purposes Charity is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Oxfordshire. It was registered in February 1974, 52 years ago. Its declared purposes cover economic/community development/employment, which this site groups under community and economic development. It says it makes grants to organisations, provides buildings/facilities/open space and acts as an umbrella or resource body.

In the financial year ending December 2025, The Public Purposes Charity reported income of £35k and spending of £55k, spending 159% of what it took in. Across the 5 years on record, from December 2021 to December 2025, income grew from £29k to £35k (+20%), an average of +4.7% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to December 2023, when income rose by 31%. Over the whole period it spent 113% of the income it received.

Among 1,869 England and Wales charities whose main cause is community and economic development and that reported income, The Public Purposes Charity sits at the 48th percentile: it is larger than about 48% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 55th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include The Henrietta Parker Trust (£35k), Charity of Sidney Paige Adams for Improvement of Borough (£35k) and Friends of Bodsham Church of England Primary School (£35k).