THE V&A FOUNDATION

Registered charity 1144508 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

The objects of the Foundation, as set out in its Memorandum and Articles are for the benefit of the public, to further, in so manner as the Trustees see fit, all or any of the objects from time to time of the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A).

Objects

The objects of the Foundation are for the benefit of the public, to further, in such manner as the Trustees of the Foundation see fit, all or any of the objects from time to time of the V&A and art, design and performance throughout the world in any manner incidental, conducive to or compatible with the charitable objects of the V&A. The Foundation achieves these objects through the award of grants.

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

Causes: Education/training · Arts/culture/heritage/science · Environment/conservation/heritage · Grant history (this charity is a funder) · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Kensington and Chelsea, London, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The V&A Foundation reports a strong financial position with unrestricted reserves of £8.3m, significantly exceeding its stated policy target of retaining £10,000. The charity generated a net income of £246,000, driven largely by investment gains of £1.3m, despite making grants totaling £1.01m. The trustees confirm there are no material uncertainties regarding the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

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

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by Moore Kingston Smith LLP. Discloses 3 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.

• 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
• Investment
• Risk management
• Trustee conflicts of interest 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.

Annual return filing dates (Charity Commission record)

Of its last 5 annual returns with a recorded received date, 1 was received after the due date: year ending 31/03/2024 (received 03/02/2025, 3 days after the 31/01/2025 due date).

Due and received dates as recorded in the Commission’s annual-return data; the data does not say whether an extension was agreed. Source: this charity’s annual returns on the Charity Commission register.

Corporate structure

• Registered company of the charity Companies House 07788681

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.

• MCLAIN, Helle Elisabeth Skov — director, appointed 01/04/2026on trustee list
• MCLAIN, Bruce Hardy — director, appointed 01/04/2026on trustee list
• SHAFIK, Nemat, Baroness — director, appointed 01/01/2025on trustee list
• BUFFINI, Deborah Si Yin, Lady — director, appointed 07/05/2024on trustee list
• HOGEL, Catherine Colburn, Dr — director, appointed 07/05/2024on trustee list
• SILVER, Caroline Louise — director, appointed 01/07/2022on trustee list
• WILLIAMS, Peter John Marsden — director, appointed 29/10/2019on trustee list
• ACTON, Heather Jane — director, appointed 29/10/2019on trustee list
• HOCHHAUSER KC, Andrew Romain — director, appointed 29/10/2019not on trustee list
• MISQUITTA, Anthony Laurence — secretary, appointed 14/04/2016

Official officers record.

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2023)

Reported reserves equal ~79.7 months of spending — in the top quarter for charities its size (median 7.2 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: 0.9% of total income — below the median for charities its size (3.2%) (benchmarks).

Register events

• Received assets from another charity (14/02/2025) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

• Andrew Hochhauser KC · trustee of 2 other charities
• Baroness Nemat Shafik · trustee of 1 other charity
• Bruce Hardy McLain
• Caroline Louise Silver
• Dr Catherine Colburn Hogel · trustee of 1 other charity
• Heather Jane Acton · trustee of 1 other charity
• Helle Elisabeth Skov McLain
• Lady Deborah Si Yin Buffini
• Peter John Marsden Williams
• Russell Guy Charles Stewart Elvidge

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

Operates in: Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Common questions

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 VICTOR ADDA FOUNDATION.

• VICTOR ADDA FOUNDATION income £81k
• THE VICTORIA HALL ASSOCIATION income £35k
• THE FOUNDATION FOUNDATION income £177k
• THE NATIONAL GALLERY TRUST income £8.4m
• VICTORIA PARK HARRIERS AND TOWER HAMLETS AC income £140k
• THE ROYAL MINT MUSEUM income £769k

Side by side with its peers

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