OPENTRUST

Registered charity 1086404 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

The object of the Trust is the advancement of education, nationally and internationally, in the social, enviromental, political and biological sciences, economics, law, the arts and media communication and other recognised scholarly subjects

Causes: Education/training · Grant history (this charity is a funder) · website · Get email alerts

Latest income

£246k

Latest spending

£236k

Registered

2001

Accounts read

FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity had net incoming resources of £9,783 for the year ended 31 December 2025, resulting in total net assets of £70,007. The Trustees are satisfied with the financial position, noting that the charity incurs no liabilities unless they are fully funded and ensures solvency by disbursing funds only when held without restriction or in accordance with restrictions.

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

What the accounts disclose

Reserves policy: ensure its solvency by disbursing funds only in accordance with any restrictions imposed on them or when they are held without restriction. The charity incurs no liabilities unless they are fully funded. (held: £13k)

“The policy of the charity is to ensure its solvency by disbursing funds only in accordance with any restrictions imposed on them or when they are held without restriction. The charity incurs no liabilities unless they are fully funded.” — page 6

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: openDemocracy Ltd is the main recipient of the Trust’s funds... The Trust also provides grant funding to other organizations which realise its objectives.

“openDemocracy Ltd is the main recipient of the Trust’s funds and has similar objectives to the Trust. The Trust also provides grant funding to other organizations which realise its objectives.” — page 5

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts independently examined (not a full audit). Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

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

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/12/2022)

Total income

£1.2m

Total spending

£804k

Cost of raising funds

£491

Reserves (reported)

£0

Employees

Reported reserves equal ~0.0 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 7.0 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Donations and legacies (100% 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: 0.0% of total income — below the median for charities its size (2.9%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

Sir Charles Chadwyck-Healey Btchair · trustee of 1 other charity
ANNE SHIRLEY LUCAS LAPPING CBE
ANTHONY HAROLD BARNETT
Dr John Francis Olivarius McAllister

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

Operates in: Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Financial year end	Income	Spending
31/12/2025	£246k	£236k
31/12/2024	£299k	£577k
31/12/2023	£365k	£862k
31/12/2022	£1.2m	£804k
31/12/2021	£905k	£917k

Common questions

Is OPENTRUST financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity had net incoming resources of £9,783 for the year ended 31 December 2025, resulting in total net assets of £70,007. The Trustees are satisfied with the financial position, noting that the charity incurs no liabilities unless they are fully funded and ensures solvency by disbursing funds only when held without restriction or in accordance with restrictions. Its FY2025 accounts were independently examined.

Who funds OPENTRUST?

Funders whose own accounts filings name OPENTRUST as a grant recipient include THE JOSEPH ROWNTREE CHARITABLE TRUST.

Known funders

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

Funder	Year	Amount	Purpose (as stated by the funder)
THE JOSEPH ROWNTREE CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2023	£117k	Pushing for better information rights

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.

Funder	Similar charities funded	Amount to them
THE CHARIS TRUST	1	£54k
E F BULMER TRUST	1	£9k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with DOLPHIN SCHOOL TRUST.

DOLPHIN SCHOOL TRUST income £2.2m
THE RESOLUTION TRUST income £842k
INCORPORATED TRUSTEES OF THE NUMBER 1 TRUST FUND income £392k
THE OPEN SCHOOL TRUST income £1.6m
PACT EDUCATIONAL TRUST LIMITED income £7.1m
THE COBALT TRUST income £654k

Side by side with its peers

Charity	Income	Top pay band	Staff >£60k	Reserves vs policy	Fundraising cost	Going concern
OPENTRUST	£246k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
DOLPHIN SCHOOL TRUST FY2025	£2.2m	—	—	unclear	—	no doubt
THE RESOLUTION TRUST FY2025	£842k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
INCORPORATED TRUSTEES OF THE NUMBER 1 TRUST FUND FY2024	£392k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
THE OPEN SCHOOL TRUST FY2025	£1.6m	—	—	below	—	no doubt
PACT EDUCATIONAL TRUST LIMITED FY2024	£7.1m	—	—	unclear	—	no doubt

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