The Economist Charitable Trust

Analysis

The Economist Charitable Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in London. It was registered in February 1986, 40 years ago. Its declared purposes cover general charitable purposes, education/training and economic/community development/employment, which this site groups under community and economic development. Legally it is a charitable trust. It says it makes grants to organisations.

In the financial year ending March 2025, The Economist Charitable Trust reported income of £104k and spending of £101k, spending 97% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2021 to March 2025, income fell from £112k to £104k (-7.1%), an average of -1.8% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to March 2023, when income dropped by 25%. Over the whole period it spent 101% 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 Economist Charitable Trust sits at the 63rd percentile: it is larger than about 63% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 72nd percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Haregate Community Centre (£104k), Impact-Now (£104k) and Abdul Mageed Educational Trust (£103k).