COMMUNITY INITIATIVES SOUTH WEST LIMITED
Registered charity 1125905 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as COMMUNITY INITIATIVES SOUTH WEST COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY
The charity's mission is to combat food waste and thereby reduce food poverty by supporting communities and groups (its network members) which work with people who have:Low or no income, poor access to affordable nutritious food and a lack of knowledge or skills or equipment to ensure food is safe and prepared properly.
Causes: Education/training · The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty · Environment/conservation/heritage · website · Get email alerts
Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts
The accounts state that the charity made a deficit of £502,982 for the year ended 31 March 2025, resulting in a decrease in net assets to £541,506. Per the trustees' report, unrestricted reserves fell to £349,676, which is below the stated policy target of three months' expenditure (£561,917). The trustees confirm that adequate resources exist to continue as a going concern for the foreseeable future.
Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.
What the accounts disclose
Largest income source: Donations and legacies (61% of income)
“Income from: Donations and legacies 3 785,603 271,141 1,056,744”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Fundraising cost ratio: 13.3% of fundraised income, as disclosed
“Expenditure on: Raising funds 6 118,181 - 118,181”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Reserves policy: three to six months of total expenditure (held: £350k)
“The unrestricted reserves set aside to provide security against a combination of the most extreme adverse risk scenarios continues to be calculated as between three and six months of total expenditure.” — page 9
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Donations from Trustees
“During the year the charity received £5,100 in donations from Trustees (2024: £5,000) and £1,000 (2024: £7,000) in donations from other organisations associated with the Trustees.” — page 39
“In addition to this the charity paid £44,005 in bookkeeping and accounting costs to a business in which two trustees are employees.” — page 39
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Accounting services to trustee-connected business
“During the year the charity received £5,100 in donations from Trustees (2024: £5,000) and £1,000 (2024: £7,000) in donations from other organisations associated with the Trustees.” — page 39
“In addition to this the charity paid £44,005 in bookkeeping and accounting costs to a business in which two trustees are employees.” — page 39
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Accounts audited by TC Group. Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.
Year-over-year changes
- Employees paid over £60,000: 1 (FY2024) → 0 (FY2025).
Comparing this charity’s FY2024 and FY2025 accounts as analysed by this site.
Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — FareShare South West (matched by registered charity number).
Leadership, per the charity’s website
- Lucy Bearn — CEO (source)
- Josie Forsyth — Deputy CEO (source)
- Andy Street — Chair of Trustees (source)
Listed on the charity’s own website when we last crawled it; roles may have changed. Pay-band disclosures above are anonymous statutory disclosures and are not attributed to any named individual.
Funders the charity credits
Named as funders/supporters on the charity’s own website (the charity’s claim, distinct from accounts-verified grants).
- HL Foundation — “We are honoured to support FareShare South West through the HL Foundation. This partnership is not just a corporate initiative – it’s a hear…” (source page)
Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook · instagram
Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2025)
Cost of raising funds
£118k
Reported reserves equal ~1.9 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).
Per its annual return, largest income source: Donations and legacies (61% 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: 6.8% of total income — above the median for charities its size (5.2%) (benchmarks).
- ANDREW STREET · trustee of 11 other charities
- Bethany Rhian Eaves
- Claire Barbara Ackland
- Claire Lucy Burden
- Daniel Keith Cox · trustee of 1 other charity
- Joanne Ingleby
- Sophie Lawrence
- Tristan Hogg
Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).
Operates in: Ireland · Throughout England · United States
Income and spending
Common questions
Is COMMUNITY INITIATIVES SOUTH WEST LIMITED financially healthy?
Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity made a deficit of £502,982 for the year ended 31 March 2025, resulting in a decrease in net assets to £541,506. Per the trustees' report, unrestricted reserves fell to £349,676, which is below the stated policy target of three months' expenditure (£561,917). The trustees confirm that adequate resources exist to continue as a going concern for the foreseeable future. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by TC Group.
Who funds COMMUNITY INITIATIVES SOUTH WEST LIMITED?
Funders whose own accounts filings name COMMUNITY INITIATIVES SOUTH WEST LIMITED as a grant recipient include THE HOBSON CHARITY LIMITED, SOCIETE GENERALE UK FOUNDATION, The Origin Foundation, The Patricia Routledge Foundation, THE MAX REINHARDT CHARITABLE TRUST.
Known funders
Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.
Government & lottery funding
Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).
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.
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Side by side with its peers
Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.