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THE FAIRTRADE FOUNDATION

Registered charity 1043886 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

The Fairtrade Foundation seeks to 1. Providing an independent certification of the trade supply chain, with the FAIRTRADE Mark as the consumer guarantee.2. Facilitating the market so that producers can sell to traders and retailers in order that the market for Fairtrade grows.3.Awareness-raising among consumers of the need for Fairtrade and the importance of the FAIRTRADE Mark.

Causes: The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty · Overseas Aid/famine Relief · Economic/community Development/employment · website · Get email alerts

Latest income
£13.3m
Latest spending
£14.4m
Registered
1995
Accounts read
FY2024

Financial health, per its FY2024 accounts

The accounts state that the Fairtrade Foundation reported a total deficit of £1.0 million for the year ended 31 December 2024, resulting in a decrease in total funds to £5.3 million. Despite the deficit, the Trustees consider the level of unrestricted reserves to be prudent and above the minimum policy target, maintaining a going concern basis with no material uncertainties identified.

Automated summary of the FY2024 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Highest-paid employee band: unclear
“The Foundation’s highest salary was 4.3 times the lowest salary during 2024, in line with our policy to ensure the highest salary is no more than five times the lowest salary.” — page 54
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Largest income source: Licence fees (78% of income)
“Licence fees continue to represent the majority of our total income (2024: 78 percent; 2023: 73 percent).” — page 25
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Fundraising cost ratio: 1.0% of fundraised income, as disclosed
“Of the total expenditure, charitable expenditure represented 99 percent and the cost of raising funds was one percent (2023: 99 percent, one percent).” — page 26
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Reserves policy: £3.6 million (held: £5.1m)
“Under the policy, the target reserves level is based on a risk-based calculation of £3.6 million (2023: £3.3 million), based on the financial implications and likelihood of significant risks.”
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Purchase of licence from Engaging Works, a company where former Chair Lord Mark Price is a Founder and Shareholder.
“The Foundation purchased an annual licence for a bespoke workplace happiness survey for £7,000 (2023: £6,000) from Engaging Works of which our former Chair, Lord Mark Price, is a Founder and a Shareholder.” — page 65
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Governance: One serious incident report made to the Charity Commission about a possible reputational matter related to another member of the Fairtrade system.
“There was one serious incident report made to the Charity Commission about a possible reputational matter related to another member of the Fairtrade system. The issue continues to be monitored.”
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Crowe U.K. LLP. Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

In the news

Recent coverage mentioning this charity by name (automated match; headlines belong to their publishers).

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — The Fairtrade Foundation (matched by registered charity number).

Property (HM Land Registry)

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

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

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/12/2024)

Total income
£13.3m
Total spending
£14.4m
Cost of raising funds
£178k
Reserves (reported)
£5.1m
Employees
105

Reported reserves equal ~4.3 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (94% 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: 1.3% of total income — below the median for charities its size (3.8%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

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

Operates in: Northern Ireland · Scotland · Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/12/2024£13.3m£14.4m
31/12/2023£13.4m£13.9m
31/12/2022£12.8m£12.5m
31/12/2021£11.5m£11.6m
31/12/2020£11.9m£11.7m

Common questions

Is THE FAIRTRADE FOUNDATION financially healthy?

Per its FY2024 accounts: The accounts state that the Fairtrade Foundation reported a total deficit of £1.0 million for the year ended 31 December 2024, resulting in a decrease in total funds to £5.3 million. Despite the deficit, the Trustees consider the level of unrestricted reserves to be prudent and above the minimum policy target, maintaining a going concern basis with no material uncertainties identified. Its FY2024 accounts were audited by Crowe U.K. LLP.

What does the highest-paid employee of THE FAIRTRADE FOUNDATION earn?

Per its FY2024 accounts, the highest-paid employee was in the unclear band.

Who funds THE FAIRTRADE FOUNDATION?

Funders whose own accounts filings name THE FAIRTRADE FOUNDATION as a grant recipient include TEXTILE REUSE AND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, ISEAL ALLIANCE, THE S M B TRUST, THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST JAMES' EXETER.

Known funders

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

FunderYearAmountPurpose (as stated by the funder)
TEXTILE REUSE AND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTFY2021£22kPayment in respect of prior year funding requests
ISEAL ALLIANCEFY2022£17kDelta Pilot
THE S M B TRUSTFY2024£2k
THE S M B TRUSTFY2025£2k
THE S M B TRUSTFY2023£2k
THE S M B TRUSTFY2022£2k
THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST JAMES' EXETERFY2024£720UK based
THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST JAMES' EXETERFY2022£700UK based
THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST JAMES' EXETERFY2023£670

Government & lottery funding

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

FunderDateAmountPurpose
The National Lottery Community Fund13/10/2014£390kGrowing women in coffee

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 HEALTH FOUNDATION1£1.7m
THE THOMPSON FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST1£1.2m
PERSULA FOUNDATION1£510k
CLEAN AIR FUND1£248k
TRUST FOR LONDON1£236k
JOHN ELLERMAN FOUNDATION1£150k
SYNCHRONICITY EARTH1£108k
THE NEIGHBOURLY FOUNDATION1£100k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with THE TRAIDCRAFT FOUNDATION.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
THE FAIRTRADE FOUNDATION£13.3munclear—above1.0%no doubt
THE TRAIDCRAFT FOUNDATION FY2025£3.5m——unclear—no doubt
FORT FOUNDATION FY2025£254k—0unclear—no doubt
THE FAIRNESS FOUNDATION FY2025£242k——unclear—no doubt
FAIR WAYS FOUNDATION FY2024£581k—0below—not going concern
THE PRET FOUNDATION FY2025£1.3m£70,000 to £80,0001above—no doubt

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