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MEDIA LEGAL DEFENCE INITIATIVE

Registered charity 1128789 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

THE PROMOTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (AS SET OUT IN THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS, SUBSEQUENT UNITED NATIONS CONVENTIONS AND DECLARATIONS AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL TREATIES AND LAWS) THROUGHOUT THE WORLD IN PARTICULAR BY (BUT NOT LIMITED TO) PROTECTING FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND THE RIGHT TO FREE EXPRESSION.

Causes: Human Rights/religious Or Racial Harmony/equality Or Diversity · Grant history (this charity is a funder) · website · Get email alerts

Latest income
£3.0m
Latest spending
£3.0m
Registered
2009
Accounts read
FY2024

Financial health, per its FY2024 accounts

The accounts state that the charity closed the year with a net surplus of £50,044 and held unrestricted reserves of £1,056,442. The trustees confirmed that these reserves exceed the policy target of £500,478, which is calculated as six months of operational costs. The filing affirms that adequate resources are available to cover foreseeable expenditure for the next 18 months.

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

What the accounts disclose

Fundraising cost ratio: 3.0% of fundraised income, as disclosed
“3% of our total expenditure was spent on raising funds.” — page 21
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Reserves policy: six months of operational costs (£500,478) (held: £1.1m)
“The Board of Trustees has determined, in line with the organisation’s Reserves Policy, that Media Defence requires reserves of £500,478 to be held to ensure, that as a minimum, we can meet any costs of closing the organisation whilst remaining operational for a period of six months” — page 23
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Sayer Vincent LLP. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

Corporate structure

Company officers (Companies House)

Current officers of the charity’s own company per the Companies House register, cross-checked against the Charity Commission trustee list by name. A director not on the trustee list is usually a timing or naming difference between the two registers — check both records before drawing conclusions.

Official officers record.

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook · instagram · linkedin

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/12/2024)

Total income
£3.0m
Total spending
£3.0m
Cost of raising funds
£86k
Reserves (reported)
£1.1m
Employees
20

Reported reserves equal ~4.3 months of spending — below the median 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: 2.9% 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: Algeria · Argentina · Azerbaijan · Bangladesh · Belgium · Botswana · Brazil · Burundi · Cambodia · Cameroon · Canada · Chile

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/12/2024£3.0m£3.0m
31/12/2023£2.9m£2.9m
31/12/2022£2.6m£2.3m
31/12/2021£2.1m£2.0m
31/12/2020£2.8m£2.8m

Common questions

Is MEDIA LEGAL DEFENCE INITIATIVE financially healthy?

Per its FY2024 accounts: The accounts state that the charity closed the year with a net surplus of £50,044 and held unrestricted reserves of £1,056,442. The trustees confirmed that these reserves exceed the policy target of £500,478, which is calculated as six months of operational costs. The filing affirms that adequate resources are available to cover foreseeable expenditure for the next 18 months. Its FY2024 accounts were audited by Sayer Vincent LLP.

Who funds MEDIA LEGAL DEFENCE INITIATIVE?

Funders whose own accounts filings name MEDIA LEGAL DEFENCE INITIATIVE as a grant recipient include THE EVAN CORNISH FOUNDATION.

Known funders

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

FunderYearAmountPurpose (as stated by the funder)
THE EVAN CORNISH FOUNDATIONFY2023£12k

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 A B CHARITABLE TRUST2£275k
THE JOSEPH ROWNTREE CHARITABLE TRUST2£240k
THE ALLEN OVERY SHEARMAN STERLING FOUNDATION2£40k
KHODORKOVSKY FOUNDATION1£11.0m
PAUL HAMLYN FOUNDATION1£180k
THE CHRISTOPHER AND HENRY OLDFIELD TRUST1£161k
THE SIMMONS AND SIMMONS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION1£69k
JOFFE CHARITABLE TRUST CIO1£65k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with JUSTICE FOR JOURNALISTS FOUNDATION.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
MEDIA LEGAL DEFENCE INITIATIVE£3.0m——above3.0%no doubt
JUSTICE FOR JOURNALISTS FOUNDATION FY2026£245k—0unclear—no doubt
THE CIVIL LIBERTIES TRUST FY2025£2.5m—0above—no doubt
LAWYERS FOR JUSTICE IN LIBYA FY2024£2.7m——below—no doubt
JUSTICE DEFENDERS FY2024£2.1m£170,001 - £180,0001unclear—no doubt
REFUGEE LEGAL SUPPORT FY2025£879k——above—no doubt

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