THE PORCH

Registered charity 1089612 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as STEPPIN STONE

Since 2001 The Porch has provided a place of safety, change and challenge for Oxford's homeless and vulnerably housed single adults. Through our support work, our cafe serving nutritious subsidized meals, and our range of activities we help members find somewhere to live, reconnect socially, increase self-esteem, acquire new skills, make a contribution and gain employment.

Causes: Education/training · The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty · Accommodation/housing · website · Get email alerts

Latest income
£394k
Latest spending
£354k
Registered
2001
Accounts read
FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that unrestricted reserves stood at £479,863, while total funds including designated and restricted reserves reached £792,800. The trustees report that financial operations remain tight and rising costs place pressure on resources, yet they conclude that current reserves are sufficient to continue as a going concern. The charity relies significantly on donations and grants, with total income decreasing from £423,012 to £394,151 in the reported year.

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

What the accounts disclose

Related-party transaction: The Porch Limited had one common trustee with The Society of All Saints. In the year, The Society of All Saints donated £10,000 (2024: £12,000) to the charity and in the previous year, lent The Porch £500,000 for purchase of the new premises, pending the disposal of The Porch’s previous premises.
During the year, The Porch Limited had one common trustee with The Society of All Saints. In the year, The Society of All Saints donated £10,000 (2024: £12,000) to the charity and in the previous year, lent The Porch £500,000 for purchase of the new premises, pending the disposal of The Porch’s previous premises. — page 29
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Wenn Townsend. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2021)

Total income
£527k
Total spending
£434k
Cost of raising funds
£32k
Reserves (reported)
£135k
Employees
8

Reported reserves equal ~3.7 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 7.0 months; benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

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

Operates in: Oxfordshire

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/03/2025£394k£354k
31/03/2024£423k£322k
31/03/2023£353k£287k
31/03/2022£312k£281k
31/03/2021£527k£434k

Common questions

Is THE PORCH financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that unrestricted reserves stood at £479,863, while total funds including designated and restricted reserves reached £792,800. The trustees report that financial operations remain tight and rising costs place pressure on resources, yet they conclude that current reserves are sufficient to continue as a going concern. The charity relies significantly on donations and grants, with total income decreasing from £423,012 to £394,151 in the reported year. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Wenn Townsend.

Government & lottery funding

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

FunderDateAmountPurpose
The National Lottery Community Fund23/05/2005£5kSalary costs

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 HOMELESS PEOPLE AND THE OXFORD CHURCHES(GATEHOUSE).

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
THE PORCH£394k0unclearno doubt
HOMELESS PEOPLE AND THE OXFORD CHURCHES(GATEHOUSE) FY2025£429k0aboveno doubt
HOMELESS OXFORDSHIRE LIMITED FY2025£6.3maboveno doubt
OXFORDSHIRE HOMELESS MOVEMENT FY2025£371k0unclearno doubt
DOORSTEP OF HULL FY2025£2.2m0belowno doubt
PORCHLIGHT FY2025£10.4munclearno doubt

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