The Gaia Foundation

Analysis

The Gaia Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Brighton. It was registered in March 1987, 39 years ago. Its declared purposes cover general charitable purposes, education/training, environment/conservation/heritage and other charitable purposes, which this site groups under environment and conservation. Legally it is a charitable trust. It says it makes grants to organisations, provides advocacy/advice/information and other charitable activities.

In the financial year ending December 2025, The Gaia Foundation reported income of £1.7m and spending of £1.6m, spending 94% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from December 2021 to December 2025, income grew from £1.4m to £1.7m (+23%), an average of +5.4% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to December 2025, when income rose by 58%. Over the whole period it spent 95% of the income it received.

Among 4,574 England and Wales charities whose main cause is environment and conservation and that reported income, The Gaia Foundation 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 96th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Friends of the Lake District (£1.7m), Population Matters (£1.7m) and Woodland Heritage Limited (£1.7m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from donations and legacies 98% and charitable activities 2.2%. Charitable activities took 99% of spending and raising funds 0.8%. Grants to other organisations totalled £457k. Reserves of £259k would cover about 2 months of spending at that rate. It employed 11 people.