Action on Disability and Development

Analysis

Action on Disability and Development is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Frome. It was registered in November 1986, 40 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training, disability, the prevention or relief of poverty and overseas aid/famine relief, which this site groups under disability. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 02033925). It says it makes grants to organisations, provides advocacy/advice/information and acts as an umbrella or resource body.

In the financial year ending December 2025, Action on Disability and Development reported income of £3.3m and spending of £3.6m, spending 110% of what it took in. Across the 5 years on record, from December 2021 to December 2025, income grew from £2.6m to £3.3m (+24%), an average of +5.6% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to December 2024, when income rose by 40%. Over the whole period it spent 100% of the income it received.

Among 12,871 England and Wales charities whose main cause is disability and that reported income, Action on Disability and Development sits at the 97th percentile: it is larger than about 97% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 97th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Independent Lives (Disability) (£3.3m), Rowland Hill and Vaughan Almshouse Charity (£3.3m) and Blackpool FC Community Trust (£3.3m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from charitable activities 51% and donations and legacies 49%. Gifts in wills alone brought in £176k. Charitable activities took 86% of spending and raising funds 13%. Grants to other organisations totalled £470k. Reserves of £888k would cover about 3 months of spending at that rate. It employed 55 people.