The Royal Caledonian Education Trust

Analysis

The Royal Caledonian Education Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Edinburgh. It was registered in March 1963, 63 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training, the prevention or relief of poverty and armed forces/emergency service efficiency, which this site groups under poverty relief. It says it makes grants to individuals, makes grants to organisations and provides services.

In the financial year ending March 2025, The Royal Caledonian Education Trust reported income of £291k and spending of £734k, spending 253% of what it took in. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2021 to March 2025, income fell from £512k to £291k (-43%), an average of -13% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to March 2024, when income dropped by 46%. Over the whole period it spent 187% of the income it received.

Among 15,276 England and Wales charities whose main cause is poverty relief and that reported income, The Royal Caledonian Education Trust sits at the 81st percentile: it is larger than about 81% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 85th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Beauty Banks (£290k), Acton Homeless Concern (Emmaus House and Damien Centre) (£291k) and Godfirst Church Cheltenham (£290k).

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.