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THE OXFORD LITERARY FESTIVAL

Registered charity 1128820 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

The objective of the charity is to advance education by promoting and providing opportunities for the appreciation, understanding and enjoyment of literature and the arts, in particular through the promotion and running of a literary festival in Oxford.

Causes: Education/training · Arts/culture/heritage/science · website · Get email alerts

Latest income
£849k
Latest spending
£612k
Registered
2009
Accounts read
FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity reported a net surplus of £235,994 for the year ended 30 June 2025, driven by increased donations and the release of deferred income. However, the charity remains in a net liability position with unrestricted funds at a deficit of £137,625, and the trustees note that the charity is not yet in a position to achieve its stated minimum reserve target of £25,000.

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: £-138k; policy: £25,000)
“The Charity is not yet in a position to achieve this objective” — page 5
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Trustee travel expenses reimbursed
“One trustee (2024: one trustee ) had travel expenses of £294 (2024: £48) reimbursed.” — page 20
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts independently examined (not a full audit). Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

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

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 30/06/2025)

Total income
£848k
Total spending
£612k
Reserves (reported)
£0
Employees
2

Reported reserves equal ~0.0 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 (54% 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

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

Operates in: Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
30/06/2025£849k£612k
30/06/2024£505k£539k
30/06/2023£550k£540k
30/06/2022£420k£443k
30/06/2021£29k£84k

Common questions

Is THE OXFORD LITERARY FESTIVAL financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity reported a net surplus of £235,994 for the year ended 30 June 2025, driven by increased donations and the release of deferred income. However, the charity remains in a net liability position with unrestricted funds at a deficit of £137,625, and the trustees note that the charity is not yet in a position to achieve its stated minimum reserve target of £25,000. Its FY2025 accounts were independently examined.

Who funds THE OXFORD LITERARY FESTIVAL?

Funders whose own accounts filings name THE OXFORD LITERARY FESTIVAL as a grant recipient include THE T. S. ELIOT FOUNDATION, THE MARTIN SMITH FOUNDATION.

Known funders

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

FunderYearAmountPurpose (as stated by the funder)
THE T. S. ELIOT FOUNDATIONFY2022£10k
THE MARTIN SMITH FOUNDATIONFY2024£500
THE MARTIN SMITH FOUNDATIONFY2023£0

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
DORIS FIELD CHARITABLE TRUST3£3k
THE MARCHUS TRUST2£10k
DR RADCLIFFE'S TRUST2£8k
THE MICHAEL BISHOP FOUNDATION1£1.1m
THE THOMPSON FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST1£350k
THE JOHN R. MURRAY CHARITABLE TRUST1£205k
THE JOHN BROWNE CHARITABLE TRUST1£130k
THE SACKLER TRUST1£50k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with OXFORD LIEDER.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
THE OXFORD LITERARY FESTIVAL£849k—0below—no doubt
OXFORD LIEDER FY2025£710k—0unclear—no doubt
HAY FESTIVAL FOUNDATION LTD FY2025£6.9m£110,001 - £120,0003below—no doubt
MUSIC AT OXFORD FY2025£208k—0below—no doubt
DERBY BOOK FESTIVAL FY2025£254k—0within—no doubt
OXFORD PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA TRUST FY2025£3.1m£80,001 - £90,0001within—no doubt

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