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THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS

Registered charity 1082335 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS LIMITED

Provide peer support to parents who are bereaved of a child or children of any age (from 1 month old to an adult child) from any cause. Support is also provided to adult siblings who are bereaved of a brother or sister and also to bereaved grandparents. Information is also given to professionals involved in bereavement care.

Causes: Education/training · The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives · website · Get email alerts

Latest income
£564k
Latest spending
£567k
Registered
2000
Accounts read
FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity achieved a surplus of £38,275 for the year, with total unrestricted reserves increasing to £224,471. This level of reserves is reported to be sufficient to meet the trustees' stated policy target of holding four months of general reserves to support ongoing expenditure. The auditor confirmed that the use of the going concern basis of accounting is appropriate with no material uncertainties identified.

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

What the accounts disclose

Highest-paid employee band: £60,001 - £70,000 — above the median for charities its size (£60k)
“During the year, one employee received emoluments of between £60,000 and £70,000.” — page 28
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Employees paid over £60,000: 1
“During the year, one employee received emoluments of between £60,000 and £70,000.” — page 28
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Reserves policy: four months of general reserves (held: £224k)
“Our current policy is that TCF should have four months of general reserves in hand to support the ongoing expenditure of the charity.”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Wenn Townsend. Discloses 6 of 6 completeness components.

Corporate structure

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — The Compassionate Friends (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.

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2026)

Total income
£564k
Total spending
£567k
Cost of raising funds
£81k
Reserves (reported)
£219k
Employees
9

Reported reserves equal ~4.6 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 5.2 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 14.3% of total income — in the top quarter for charities its size (median 4.9%) (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
31/03/2026£564k£567k
31/03/2025£543k£505k
31/03/2024£385k£572k
31/03/2023£489k£567k
31/03/2022£460k£378k

Common questions

Is THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity achieved a surplus of £38,275 for the year, with total unrestricted reserves increasing to £224,471. This level of reserves is reported to be sufficient to meet the trustees' stated policy target of holding four months of general reserves to support ongoing expenditure. The auditor confirmed that the use of the going concern basis of accounting is appropriate with no material uncertainties identified. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Wenn Townsend.

What does the highest-paid employee of THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS earn?

Per its FY2025 accounts, the highest-paid employee was in the £60,001 - £70,000 band, and 1 employees earned over £60,000.

Who funds THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS?

Funders whose own accounts filings name THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS as a grant recipient include THE CHRISTOPHER AND HENRY OLDFIELD TRUST, PETER SOWERBY FOUNDATION, DUCHY HEALTH CHARITY LIMITED, THE KRISTINA MARTIN CHARITABLE TRUST, THE HELEN ROLL CHARITY.

Known funders

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

FunderYearAmountPurpose (as stated by the funder)
THE CHRISTOPHER AND HENRY OLDFIELD TRUSTFY2022£25k
PETER SOWERBY FOUNDATIONFY2025£25k
THE CHRISTOPHER AND HENRY OLDFIELD TRUSTFY2023£25k
DUCHY HEALTH CHARITY LIMITEDFY2026£25k
THE KRISTINA MARTIN CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2022£15k
THE HELEN ROLL CHARITYFY2025£10k
THE KRISTINA MARTIN CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2023£10k
THE WILLIAM ALLEN YOUNG CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2025£10k
THE BATCHWORTH TRUSTFY2023£10k
THE KRISTINA MARTIN CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2024£9k
THE HELEN ROLL CHARITYFY2023£8k
THE EDWINA MOUNTBATTEN AND LEONORA CHILDREN'S FOUNDATIONFY2025£5kFor provision of support to bereaved parents of children with cancer
DUCHY HEALTH CHARITY LIMITEDFY2025£5k
THE TOBACCO PIPE MAKERS AND TOBACCO TRADE BENEVOLENT FUNDFY2025£5kother relief
CHARLES S FRENCH CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2024£5k
CHARLES S FRENCH CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2022£5k
THE GROCERS' CHARITYFY2025£5kHealth
THE CHRISTOPHER AND HENRY OLDFIELD TRUSTFY2024£4k
THE HOBSON CHARITY LIMITEDFY2022£4kBereavement
THE ALICE ELLEN COOPER-DEAN CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONFY2022£3k
THE ALICE ELLEN COOPER-DEAN CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONFY2023£3k
DUCHY HEALTH CHARITY LIMITEDFY2026£3k
THE HELEN ROLL CHARITYFY2024£3k
THE HELEN ROLL CHARITYFY2022£3k
THE HOBSON CHARITY LIMITEDFY2024£2kBereavement
The Patricia Routledge FoundationFY2024£2k
CHAPMAN CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2023£2k
THE BARBOUR FOUNDATIONFY2024£2k
THE MICHAEL MARSH CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2024£2kGeneral Charitable Purposes
THE EDGAR E LAWLEY FOUNDATIONFY2022£2k
THE OAKDALE TRUSTFY2025£2k
THE DWF FOUNDATIONFY2022£2k
THE EDWARD AND DOROTHY CADBURY TRUSTFY2025£1kCompassionate Support
THE EDWARD AND DOROTHY CADBURY TRUSTFY2024£1kCompassionate Support
THE SCOTT BADER COMMONWEALTH LIMITEDFY2021£750Funded zoom subscriptions costs to keep the service running during lockdown in Northamptonshire
THE ROGER DE HAAN CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2025£500Health and Welfare
THE ROGER DE HAAN CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2024£500
THE DWF FOUNDATIONFY2022£500
WALLINGFORD & DIDCOT ROTARY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION CIOFY2022£500Donations
THE ARMOURERS AND BRASIERS GAUNTLET TRUSTFY2022£250Occasional Grants
MARTIN GEDDES CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2025—
THE KRISTINA MARTIN CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2025—
MARTIN GEDDES CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2024—

Government & lottery funding

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

FunderDateAmountPurpose
The National Lottery Community Fund15/12/2023£15kOnline Support Groups for Bereaved Parents
The National Lottery Community Fund27/11/2023£99kGrief Companions
The National Lottery Community Fund10/06/2022£10kOnline Support Groups for Bereaved Parents
Foundation Scotland03/02/2021£5kGrant to The Compassionate Friends
The Mercers' Company03/12/2020£5kCovid-19 Rapid Response Fund Grant
UK government25/09/2020£8kCoronavirus Community Support Fund
The National Lottery Community Fund20/09/2019£119kGrief Companions
The National Lottery Community Fund30/04/2019£10kThe Compassionate Friends NI - Supporting Breaved Parents and Siblings
The National Lottery Community Fund26/04/2019£8kPeer Support for Bereaved Parents
The National Lottery Community Fund03/05/2012£8kLiving with Loss Programme for Bereaved Parents
The National Lottery Community Fund15/02/2006£2kVolunteer costs, training and advertising

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 TRUE COLOURS TRUST2£51k
SIR JULES THORN CHARITABLE TRUST2£10k
Flat Iron Trust1£55k
HQR LONDON CHARITABLE FOUNDATION1£43k
BOOTS CHARITABLE TRUST1£40k
BNA CHARITABLE INCORPORATED ORGANISATION1£30k
THE BARBARA WARD CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION1£20k
THE JONES 1986 CHARITABLE TRUST1£20k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with Child Bereavement UK.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS£564k£60,001 - £70,0001above—no doubt
Child Bereavement UK FY2025£2.7m——within—no doubt
CBUK26 FY2025£4.2m——unclear—no doubt
SLOW - SUPPORTING BEREAVED PARENTS AND SIBLINGS FY2025£163k—0unclear—no doubt
BALLOONS (DEVON) FY2025£312k—0below—no doubt
CHILDREN'S BEREAVEMENT CENTRE FY2025£388k—0below—no doubt

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