THE ROYAL COUNTRYSIDE FUND

Registered charity 1136077 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · Wikidata: Q60765535 · Wikipedia · also known as THE PRINCE'S COUNTRYSIDE FUND · also registered in Scotland as SC048055 (OSCR)

Set up to respond to concerns expressed by HRH The Prince of Wales on the future of farming and rural communities in the UK. 3 goals:-* to improve the sustainability of British farming and rural communities, targeting areas of greatest need* to reconnect consumers with countryside issues* to support farming and rural crisis charities through a dedicated emergency funding stream

Objects

2.1 THE CONSERVATION, PROTECTION AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE PHYSICAL AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT IN FARMING AND/OR RURAL AREAS;2.2 THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION IN ALL MATTERS RELATING TO FARMING AND/OR RURAL AREAS;2.3 THE PREVENTION OR RELIEF OF POVERTY IN FARMING AND/OR RURAL AREAS;2.4 THE ADVANCEMENT OF HEALTH IN FARMING AND/OR RURAL AREAS;2.5 THE PROMOTION, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC, OF ANY CHARITABLE PURPOSES AND INPARTICULAR CHARITABLE PURPOSES CONNECTED WITH RURAL REGENERATION IN AREAS OF SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEPRIVATION THROUGHOUT THE UK BY ALL OR ANY OF THE FOLLOWING MEANS:(A) THE RELIEF OF FINANCIAL HARDSHIP;(B) THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION, TRAINING OR RETRAINING, PARTICULARLY AMONGUNEMPLOYED PEOPLE, AND PROVIDING UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE WITH WORK EXPERIENCE;AND(C) THE PROVISION OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES INFARMING AND/OR RURAL AREAS.

Area of benefit: UNDEFINED. IN PRACTICE, NATIONAL

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

Causes: Education/training · The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty · Environment/conservation/heritage · Economic/community Development/employment · Grant history (this charity is a funder) · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Westminster, London, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity held unrestricted funds of £600,767 and free reserves of £558,000, which the trustees consider to be within their stated policy range of £500,000 to £600,000. The charity reported a net positive movement in funds of £167,002 for the year, driven by significant grant funding from Defra and the People's Postcode Lottery. The trustees have confirmed that resources are adequate for the foreseeable future, with no material uncertainties identified regarding the going concern basis.

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

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by Saffery LLP. Discloses 4 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
• Complaints handling
• Complaints policy and procedures
• Conflicting interests
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Investing charity funds 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

From the charity’s annual return (Part A, self-declared)

Answers and figures the charity gave in Part A of its annual return to the Charity Commission. They are self-declared: not verified by the Commission or by this site. Only positive answers and figures are listed; items not listed are simply not shown.

Source: this charity’s annual returns on the Charity Commission register.

Corporate structure

• Registered company of the charity Companies House 07240359
• Trading subsidiary: COUNTRYSIDE FUND TRADING LTD Companies House 07274582 · Financial health read from its filings

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — The Royal Countryside Fund (matched by registered charity number).

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.

• ARNOLD, Jeremy Rupert — director, appointed 06/01/2026on trustee list
• PHILLIPS, Andrew Mark — director, appointed 01/10/2025not on trustee list
• WESTON, Charlotte Anne Marie — director, appointed 01/03/2025on trustee list
• SPARROW, Christopher Benjamin — director, appointed 21/05/2024on trustee list
• BRIMACOMBE, Stephanie — director, appointed 05/04/2023on trustee list
• HANCOCK, Heather Jane — director, appointed 24/03/2021not on trustee list
• ROCK, Kate Harriet Alexandra, Baroness — director, appointed 24/03/2021on trustee list
• MCCOLLUM, Janet Susanne Burgoyne — director, appointed 02/01/2020not on trustee list
• FURSDON, Edward David — director, appointed 25/04/2019on trustee list
• LINDSAY, James Randolph, Earl Of Lindsay — director, appointed 15/03/2018not on trustee list

Official officers record.

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

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

Reported reserves equal ~1.8 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 4.7 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Other (72% 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: 1.8% of total income — below the median for charities its size (5.3%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

• Heather Jane Hancock LVO, DLchair
• Andrew Mark Phillips LVO
• Baroness Kate Harriet Alexandra Rock
• Charlotte Anne Marie Weston
• Christopher Benjamin Sparrow
• Edward David Fursdon
• Janet Susanne Burgoyne McCollum CBE
• Jeremy Rupert Arnold
• MICHAEL ROSS MURRAY · trustee of 2 other charities
• Stephanie Brimacombe

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

Operates in: Northern Ireland · Scotland · Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Common questions

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.

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with THE COUNTRYSIDE ALLIANCE FOUNDATION.

• THE COUNTRYSIDE ALLIANCE FOUNDATION income £3.9m
• LINKING ENVIRONMENT AND FARMING income £3.2m
• The Countryside Regeneration Trust income £1.5m
• CARSTAIRS COUNTRYSIDE TRUST income £291k
• THE CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT RURAL ENGLAND WILTSHIRE income £131k
• THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF WALES income £19.6m

Side by side with its peers

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