The Sofa Project

Analysis

The Sofa Project is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Bristol. It was registered in June 1983, 43 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training, the prevention or relief of poverty, environment/conservation/heritage and economic/community development/employment, which this site groups under poverty relief. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 01697726). It says it provides services.

In the financial year ending March 2025, The Sofa Project reported income of £676k and spending of £686k, spending 101% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2021 to March 2025, income fell from £699k to £676k (-3.3%), an average of -0.8% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to March 2022, when income dropped by 16%. Over the whole period it spent 101% of the income it received.

Among 15,276 England and Wales charities whose main cause is poverty relief and that reported income, The Sofa Project sits at the 90th percentile: it is larger than about 90% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 92nd percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Wellspring Church (Watford) (£675k), The Cambridge City Foodbank (£677k) and Alte Feiga Trust (£675k).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from charitable activities 73%, donations and legacies 20% and investments 7.2%. Charitable activities took 98% of spending and raising funds 1.9%. It employed 20 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.