THE ROYAL AIR FORCE BENEVOLENT FUND

Registered charity 1081009 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · Wikidata: Q25975831

(a) Providing relief and assistance to past and present members of the Royal Air Force and their dependants who are in need as a result of poverty, disability, sickness, infirmity or otherwise.(b) enhancing the morale and well being of serving members of the Royal Air Force(c)Maintaining the RAF war memorial on the Victoria embankment, London.

Objects

(a) the maintenance, upkeep and repair of the War Memorial known as the RAF Memorial situated at the Victoria Embankment, London; and(b) the relief and assistance by all available means of all or any of the following classes of beneficiaries who are in need of such relief or assistance by reason of poverty, disability, sickness, infirmity or otherwise, namely:(i) all persons who are or have or shall have been at any time or shall be at any time members of the Royal Air Force, the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, the Royal Air Force Reserves including the Volunteer Reserve (Training) Organisation, the Women’s Royal Air Force, the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, the Royal Observer Corps, the Air Cadet Organisation, the University Air Squadron Organisation or the Air Force or Auxiliary Air Force of any present or former colony dominion or dependent territory of Great Britain, or members of any former organisation the place of which has substantially been taken by the said organisations or any of them, or members of any future organisations which hereafter shall substantially take place of the said organisations or any of them; and(ii) all persons who shall at any time have been widows, widowers, children or other dependants of any of the persons above referred to; and(iii) the promotion of the efficiency of the Royal Air Force, principally by, but not limited to, providing support and assistance by any means to any persons who are serving in the Royal Air Force and their dependants with a view to enhancing the morale and well being of serving members of the Royal Air Force.

Area of benefit: NOT DEFINED.

The charity’s charitable objects and area of benefit, quoted from its governing document as held on the Charity Commission register.

Causes: Education/training · Disability · The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty · Accommodation/housing · Arts/culture/heritage/science · Armed Forces/emergency Service Efficiency · Grant history (this charity is a funder) · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Westminster, London, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity held total funds of £128.9M, with unrestricted free reserves of £67.9M, which exceeded the stated minimum free reserves requirement of £55M. The charity reported a net income of £4.17M for the year, supported by a significant increase in legacy income, and confirmed it has adequate resources to continue operating as a going concern.

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

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by Crowe U.K. LLP. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

Policies the charity declares

In its annual return the charity told the Commission that it has the policies listed below. This is self-declared: it is not verified by the Commission or by this site, and it is not evidence of how a policy works in practice.

• Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
• Complaints handling
• Complaints policy and procedures
• Conflicting interests
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Investing charity funds policy and procedures
• Investment
• Paying staff
• Risk management
• Safeguarding policy and procedures
• Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
• Social media policy and procedures
• Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
• Trustee expenses policy and procedures
• Volunteer management

From the charity’s annual return (Part A, self-declared)

Answers and figures the charity gave in Part A of its annual return to the Charity Commission. They are self-declared: not verified by the Commission or by this site. Only positive answers and figures are listed; items not listed are simply not shown.

Source: this charity’s annual returns on the Charity Commission register.

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund (matched by registered charity number).

Funders the charity credits

Named as funders/supporters on the charity’s own website (the charity’s claim, distinct from accounts-verified grants).

• Wimbledon Foundation — “The RAF Benevolent Fund is delighted to announce that the Wimbledon Foundation has awarded a grant of £150,000 to support its Airplay youth …” (source page)

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/12/2025)

Reported reserves equal ~66.4 months of spending — in the top quarter for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 19.8% of total income — in the top quarter for charities its size (median 3.7%) (benchmarks).

Register events

• Received assets from another charity (15/10/2026) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
• Received assets from another charity (11/06/2026) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
• Received assets from another charity (10/02/2026) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
• Received assets from another charity (11/09/2025) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
• Received assets from another charity (11/09/2025) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
• Received assets from another charity (08/12/2023) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

• Alan Fraser Porter
• Alastair Irvine
• Alison Benjamin · trustee of 1 other charity
• Allyson Arnold
• Clive Alan Martland
• John Morrison Neilson
• Lady Susan Meredith Mayhew
• Patrick Anthony Richard Aylmer · trustee of 1 other charity
• Rebecca Jane Miles · trustee of 1 other charity
• Richard Cryer
• Richard Nicholas Daniel
• Sarah-Jane Louise Davis · trustee of 1 other charity

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

Operates in: Argentina · Australia · Austria · Belgium · Canada · Chile · Cyprus · France · Germany · Guyana · Hong Kong · Hungary

Income and spending

Common questions

Known funders

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

Government & lottery funding

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

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.

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with THE ROYAL AIR FORCE DEPENDANTS FUND.

• THE ROYAL AIR FORCE DEPENDANTS FUND income £409k
• THE ROYAL AIR FORCE BENEVOLENT FUND income £2.4m
• THE ROYAL AIR FORCES ASSOCIATION - CORPORATE BODY income £29.0m
• THE ROYAL AIR FORCE CLUB income £13.1m
• ROYAL ARTILLERY CHARITABLE FUND income £1.8m
• ROYAL AIR FORCE WIDOWS ASSOCIATION income £38k

Side by side with its peers

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