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HARPENDEN MENCAP

Registered charity 1035252 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as HARPENDEN MENCAP SOCIETY, HARPENDEN SOCIETY FOR MENTALLY HANDICAPPED CHILDREN AND ADULTS

Harpenden Mencap was first formed in 1959 as a parental support group. The organisation has expanded over the years and now provides services for adults with learning disabilities including supported living, domiciliary care, employment support and social activities.

Causes: Disability · Accommodation/housing · Economic/community Development/employment · website · Get email alerts

Latest income
£2.9m
Latest spending
£2.7m
Registered
1994
Accounts read
FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that unrestricted reserves were £2,602,834, which is below the assessed free reserve requirement of £500k, resulting in a deficit on free reserves of £301k. The charity reported a net surplus of £189k for the year, with total income of £2.89 million and total expenditure of £2.7 million. The trustees confirmed that the charity is expected to meet its liabilities as they fall due for the foreseeable future.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Fundraising cost ratio: 76.9% of fundraised income, as disclosed
“Fundraising costs remained reasonably stable at £10k (2024: £6k).” — page 8
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Reserves position: below the charity's own stated reserves policy (held: £2.6m; policy: three and six month’s expenditure)
“There is a deficit on free reserves of £301k (2024: deficit £157k) compared to the assessed requirement of our reserves policy.” — page 7
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Miller & Co. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

Corporate structure

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Harpenden Mencap (matched by registered charity number).

Company officers (Companies House)

Current officers of the charity’s own company per the Companies House register, cross-checked against the Charity Commission trustee list by name. A director not on the trustee list is usually a timing or naming difference between the two registers — check both records before drawing conclusions.

Official officers record.

Property (HM Land Registry)

2 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (2 freehold). All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

CQC provider record: Harpenden Mencap — Registered, 5 registered locations, 1 regulated activity, last inspected 15/01/2019.charity number confirmed by CQC CQC record

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook · instagram

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2025)

Total income
£2.9m
Total spending
£2.7m
Cost of raising funds
£10k
Reserves (reported)
£2.9m
Employees
51

Reported reserves equal ~13.1 months of spending — in the top quarter for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (88% of income) — components as reported reconcile to the return’s total income; not from the accounts narrative.

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 0.3% of total income — below the median for charities its size (5.2%) (benchmarks).

Register events

Trustees · trustee networks

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: Hertfordshire

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/03/2025£2.9m£2.7m
31/03/2024£2.5m£2.5m
31/03/2023£2.5m£2.7m
31/03/2022£2.8m£2.4m
31/03/2021£2.3m£2.3m

Common questions

Is HARPENDEN MENCAP financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that unrestricted reserves were £2,602,834, which is below the assessed free reserve requirement of £500k, resulting in a deficit on free reserves of £301k. The charity reported a net surplus of £189k for the year, with total income of £2.89 million and total expenditure of £2.7 million. The trustees confirmed that the charity is expected to meet its liabilities as they fall due for the foreseeable future. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Miller & Co.

Who funds HARPENDEN MENCAP?

Funders whose own accounts filings name HARPENDEN MENCAP as a grant recipient include THE HARPENDEN TRUST.

Known funders

Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.

FunderYearAmountPurpose (as stated by the funder)
THE HARPENDEN TRUSTFY2025£15kSupported accommodation in Batford
THE HARPENDEN TRUSTFY2023£5kCommunity Fund grant
THE HARPENDEN TRUSTFY2024£5k

Government & lottery funding

Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).

FunderDateAmountPurpose
The National Lottery Community Fund10/06/2022£6kMy Home Life: self-advocacy community group

Funders of similar charities

Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.

FunderSimilar charities fundedAmount to them
THE MERCERS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION1£36k
JOHN LYON'S CHARITY1£26k
THE BAILY THOMAS CHARITABLE FUND1£25k
THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF GREEN STREET GREEN AND PRATTS BOTTOM (ST. MARY'S WITH ALL SOULS)1£6k
THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF FINCHLEY1£5k
THE FORBES CHARITABLE FOUNDATION1£3k
THE ASAMAA CHARITABLE TRUST1£2k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with HERTSMERE MENCAP.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
HARPENDEN MENCAP£2.9m——below76.9%no doubt
HERTSMERE MENCAP FY2025£183k—0above—no doubt
MENCAP IN KIRKLEES FY2025£3.6m—0unclear—no doubt
HUNTINGDON MENCAP SOCIETY LIMITED FY2025£1.7m£70,001 - £80,0001unclear—no doubt
ROYAL MENCAP SOCIETY FY2025£244.4m——above—no doubt
BROMLEY & LEWISHAM MENCAP FY2025£2.8m£80,000 - £89,9991above—no doubt

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.