CHURCHCENTRAL TRUST

Registered charity 1118562 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as WEST BIRMINGHAM FAMILY CHURCH

To demonstrate the Christian Faith in Action by being a Church in the Central Birmingham area.

Objects

3 OBJECTS THE COMPANY'S OBJECTS ARE:-3.1 THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND OVERSEAS;3.2 THE ADVANCEMENT FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT OF RELIGIOUS AND OTHER EDUCATION;3.3 THE RELIEF OF THE AGED POOR SICK AND DISABLED;3.4 SUCH OTHER CHARITABLE PURPOSES AS THE DIRECTORS IN THEIR ABSOLUTE DISCRETION THINK FIT;THIS CLAUSE MAY NOT BE AMENDED WITHOUT THE PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE CHARITY COMMISSION.

Area of benefit: IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND OVERSEAS.

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

Causes: General Charitable Purposes · Education/training · The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty · Religious Activities · website · Get email alerts

Latest income

£671k

Latest spending

£592k

Registered

2007

Accounts read

FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity reported a net surplus of £78,952 for the year, with total net assets increasing to £550,886. However, the trustees note that unrestricted cash reserves of £56,815 fall below their stated policy target of £100,000, a situation they attribute to residual effects of the pandemic and current cost-of-living pressures.

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

What the accounts disclose

Reserves position: below the charity's own stated reserves policy (held: £57k; policy: no less than £100,000)

“At the year end, the charity held unrestricted cash of £56,815 which the trustees are aware falls below the threshold set in the reserves policy.” — page 14

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Payments to trustees: Jonathan Bell and Timothy Brown received remuneration for employment as Church Leaders (£45,571 and £50,250 respectively in 2025), not for serving as trustees. A property was leased from J Bell for £12,000.

“J Bell and T Brown were both employed as Church Leaders. They received the above payments for serving in those capacities, not for serving as trustees; these payments are permitted by the charity's governing document. In addition the charity leased a property from J Bell for £12,000 (2024: £12,000), which it then provided to him so that he could better perform his duties (as is customary for church leaders).” — page 25

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: Trustee remuneration

“J Bell and T Brown were both employed as Church Leaders. They received the above payments for serving in those capacities, not for serving as trustees; these payments are permitted by the charity's governing document. In addition the charity leased a property from J Bell for £12,000 (2024: £12,000), which it then provided to him so that he could better perform his duties (as is customary for church leaders).” — page 25

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts independently examined (not a full audit). Discloses 5 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
Campaigns and political activity policy and procedures
Complaints handling
Complaints policy and procedures
Conflicting interests
Engaging external speakers at charity events policy and procedures
Financial reserves policy and procedures
Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
Internal risk management policy and procedures
Paying staff
Risk management
Safeguarding policy and procedures
Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
Social media policy and procedures
Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
Trustee expenses policy and procedures
Volunteer management

Property (HM Land Registry)

1 registered title in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (1 freehold); recorded price paid £400k. 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

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2025)

Total income

£671k

Total spending

£592k

Reserves (reported)

£57k

Employees

Reported reserves equal ~1.2 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 5.2 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Donations and legacies (95% 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 (4.9%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

JONATHAN MARK BELL
Megan Haskell
Timothy Brown · trustee of 1 other charity

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

Operates in: Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Financial year end	Income	Spending
31/03/2025	£671k	£592k
31/03/2024	£594k	£579k
31/03/2023	£532k	£540k
31/03/2022	£472k	£512k
31/03/2021	£605k	£589k

Common questions

Is CHURCHCENTRAL TRUST financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity reported a net surplus of £78,952 for the year, with total net assets increasing to £550,886. However, the trustees note that unrestricted cash reserves of £56,815 fall below their stated policy target of £100,000, a situation they attribute to residual effects of the pandemic and current cost-of-living pressures. Its FY2025 accounts were independently examined.

Who funds CHURCHCENTRAL TRUST?

Funders whose own accounts filings name CHURCHCENTRAL TRUST as a grant recipient include EMMANUEL CHURCH OXFORD.

Known funders

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

Funder	Year	Amount	Purpose (as stated by the funder)
EMMANUEL CHURCH OXFORD	FY2022	£25k	Other

Government & lottery funding

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

Funder	Date	Amount	Purpose
The National Lottery Community Fund	01/08/2024	£20k	Hope Community Pantry

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
GOSPEL PARTNERS TRUST	1	£2k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with CHRIST CENTRAL LONDON.

CHRIST CENTRAL LONDON income £345k
CENTRE CHURCH income £167k
TRINITY CENTRAL LONDON income £267k
KING'S CHURCH BIRMINGHAM income £381k
TRINITY BAPTIST CHURCH income £1.7m
CENTRAL BAPTIST CHURCH WALTHAMSTOW income £126k

Side by side with its peers

Charity	Income	Top pay band	Staff >£60k	Reserves vs policy	Fundraising cost	Going concern
CHURCHCENTRAL TRUST	£671k	—	0	below	—	no doubt
CHRIST CENTRAL LONDON FY2024	£345k	—	0	above	—	no doubt
CENTRE CHURCH FY2024	£167k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
TRINITY CENTRAL LONDON FY2025	£267k	£80,001 - £90,000	1	unclear	—	no doubt
KING'S CHURCH BIRMINGHAM FY2025	£381k	—	0	above	—	no doubt
TRINITY BAPTIST CHURCH FY2025	£1.7m	—	—	above	—	no doubt

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