Charity Accounts Intelreading the accounts so you don’t have to

COLCHESTER ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Registered charity 1105621 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as COLCHESTER ZOO ACTION FOR THE WILD

Colchester Zoological Society is dedicated to providing financial and technical assistance to conservation projects worldwide, to raising awareness among local people in community conservation programmes and to supporting conservation research and its own project: the UmPhafa Nature Reserve in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.

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

Latest income
£4.4m
Latest spending
£511k
Registered
2004
Accounts read
FY2024

Financial health, per its FY2024 accounts

The accounts state that the charity generated a net income of £3,910,339 for the year ended 31 December 2024, resulting in total unrestricted reserves of £5,132,422. The trustees report that reserves are held at a level sufficient to support conservation projects and strategic plans, with funds placed on deposit to earn a return while remaining accessible. The independent auditors confirmed that the use of the going concern basis of accounting is appropriate with no material uncertainties identified.

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

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by SB&P. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

Property (HM Land Registry)

3 registered titles 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
£4.4m
Total spending
£511k
Cost of raising funds
£850
Reserves (reported)
£5.1m
Employees
0

Reported reserves equal ~120.6 months of spending — in the top quarter for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Donations and legacies (99% 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 (5.2%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

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

Operates in: Congo (Democratic Republic) · Ecuador · Essex · Indonesia · Laos · Madagascar · Nepal · Netherlands · South Africa · Zambia

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/12/2024£4.4m£511k
31/12/2023£199k£520k
31/12/2022£642k£388k
31/12/2021£1.3m£285k
31/12/2020£243k£212k

Common questions

Is COLCHESTER ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY financially healthy?

Per its FY2024 accounts: The accounts state that the charity generated a net income of £3,910,339 for the year ended 31 December 2024, resulting in total unrestricted reserves of £5,132,422. The trustees report that reserves are held at a level sufficient to support conservation projects and strategic plans, with funds placed on deposit to earn a return while remaining accessible. The independent auditors confirmed that the use of the going concern basis of accounting is appropriate with no material uncertainties identified. Its FY2024 accounts were audited by SB&P.

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 BANISTER CHARITABLE TRUST2£45k
MARJORIE COOTE ANIMAL CHARITY TRUST2£25k
SANDRA CHARITABLE TRUST2£14k
GLOBAL CANOPY1£1.3m
THE BALCOMBE CHARITABLE TRUST1£413k
THE ERANDA ROTHSCHILD FOUNDATION1£357k
DENISE COATES FOUNDATION1£323k
THE WESTMINSTER FOUNDATION1£307k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with THE NORTH OF ENGLAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
COLCHESTER ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY£4.4m—0unclear—no doubt
THE NORTH OF ENGLAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY FY2024£63.1m——no_policy—no doubt
THE BRISTOL CLIFTON AND WEST OF ENGLAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY LIMITED FY2024£7.6m£130,001 - £140,000—unclear—material uncertainty
COLCHESTER HAS ACTIVE PROSTATE SUPPORT FY2025£200k—0unclear—no doubt
COLCHESTER UNITED COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FY2025£1.4m——unclear—no doubt
NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WALES FY2024£2.7m—0unclear—no doubt

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