The Poetry Society

Analysis

The Poetry Society is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in London. It was registered in July 1964, 62 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training and arts/culture/heritage/science, which this site groups under arts, culture, heritage and science. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 00190736). It says it provides human resources, provides buildings/facilities/open space and provides services.

In the financial year ending March 2025, The Poetry Society reported income of £1.1m and spending of £950k, spending 87% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2021 to March 2025, income grew from £950k to £1.1m (+15%), an average of +3.5% a year. Over the whole period it spent 88% of the income it received.

Among 17,634 England and Wales charities whose main cause is arts, culture, heritage and science and that reported income, The Poetry Society sits at the 95th percentile: it is larger than about 95% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 94th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Diorama Arts Centre (£1.1m), Artsadmin (£1.1m) and The Science Council (£1.1m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from donations and legacies 53%, charitable activities 45% and investments 1.9%. Gifts in wills alone brought in £34k. Charitable activities took 98% of spending and raising funds 0.0%. Reserves of £1.4m would cover about 18 months of spending at that rate. It employed 12 people.