The Westminster Foundation

Analysis

The Westminster Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in London. It was registered in April 1975, 51 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training, the prevention or relief of poverty, accommodation/housing and arts/culture/heritage/science, which this site groups under poverty relief. Legally it is a charitable trust. It says it makes grants to organisations, provides buildings/facilities/open space and other charitable activities.

In the financial year ending December 2025, The Westminster Foundation reported income of £5.0m and spending of £7.8m, spending 158% of what it took in. Across the 5 years on record, from December 2021 to December 2025, income fell from £10.4m to £5.0m (-52%), an average of -17% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to December 2022, when income dropped by 69%. Over the whole period it spent 137% of the income it received.

Among 15,276 England and Wales charities whose main cause is poverty relief and that reported income, The Westminster Foundation sits at the 99th percentile: it is larger than about 98% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 98th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Stewards Company Ltd (£4.9m), The Goyal Foundation (£5.0m) and The Society of St Columban for Foreign Missions (£4.9m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from donations and legacies 56% and investments 44%. Charitable activities took 98% of spending and raising funds 0.0%. Grants to other organisations totalled £6.8m. Reserves of £163.4m would cover about 245 months of spending at that rate.

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.