MORTAL FOOLS

Registered charity 1153400 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as NORTHERN ARTS ENTERPRISES, TYNE VALLEY YOUTH THEATRE

1. Using arts-based techniques to provide professional training and personal development activities2. Running an ensemble youth theatre company for young people between 8 & 193. Running drama and theatre-making activities in schools 4. Offering workshops to educate children & adults in life skills and technical theatre skills5. Performing plays for the general public

Objects

For the benefit of the public particularly but not exclusively in the north of England, the Company’s Objects are, through the teaching, practice and showcasing of the arts in all their forms:(1) To help children and young people develop their skills, capacity and capabilities to enable them to participate fully in society as responsible, mature and fulfilled individuals;(2) To advance the mental health education of children, young people, their significant adults and the general public to improve mental wellbeing;(3) To promote, support and improve the social inclusion of children and young people who are socially excluded by providing them with opportunities to access activities and develop their skills and experiences in such a way that they are better able to participate more fully in society;(For the purposes of this clause ‘socially excluded’ means children and young people (up to aged 25) who are excluded from society, or parts of society (like social circles) as a result of one or more of the following factors: socio-economic circumstances; race; gender; poor educational or skills attainment; mental health; disability; bullying and harassment and ethnic origin. (4) To maintain, improve, and advance arts education of children and young people, professional artists and the general public.

Area of benefit: NOT DEFINED

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 · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Northumberland, North East, England (from the postcode on the register)

Latest income
£620k
Latest spending
£656k
Registered
2013
Accounts read
FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that unrestricted reserves of £209,940 exceed the trustees' minimum free reserves target of £145,000, indicating adequate financial resilience. The charity reports no material uncertainties regarding its ability to continue operating and maintains a diversified income stream despite high competition for grant funding.

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

What the accounts disclose

Reserves policy: three months of unrestricted expenditure (held: £210k)
“At present, the Trustees estimate that the Unrestricted Reserves required to cover all known liabilities for a period of 3 months amounts to approximately £145,000 and that this should be the minimum Free Reserves Target held in the accounts.” — page 6
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts independently examined (not a full audit). Discloses 5 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.

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.

Self-declared on the annual return for the financial year ending 31/03/2025

  • Volunteers: 1
  • Government income: £147,048 — contracts £116,000 (1), grants £31,048 (6); 24% of the £620,346 total gross income on the same return
  • Trustee benefits, answered Yes to: any trustee benefit; other trustee benefit

Self-declared on the annual return for the financial year ending 31/03/2024

  • Volunteers: 2
  • Government income: £140,220 — contracts £36,874 (2), grants £103,346 (8); 24% of the £592,789 total gross income on the same return
  • Trustee benefits, answered Yes to: any trustee benefit; other trustee benefit

Self-declared on the annual return for the financial year ending 31/03/2023

  • Volunteers: 4
  • Government income: £29,720 — grants £29,720 (4); 7% of the £434,654 total gross income on the same return

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

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Mortal Fools (matched by registered charity number).

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

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

Total income
£620k
Total spending
£656k
Reserves (reported)
£209k
Employees
14

Reported reserves equal ~3.8 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 5.2 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (95% 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: Cheshire West & Chester · Cumbria · Durham · Gateshead · Newcastle Upon Tyne City · Northumberland · Sunderland

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/03/2025£620k£656k
31/03/2024£593k£611k
31/03/2023£435k£492k
31/03/2022£621k£382k
31/03/2021£486k£405k

Common questions

Is MORTAL FOOLS financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that unrestricted reserves of £209,940 exceed the trustees' minimum free reserves target of £145,000, indicating adequate financial resilience. The charity reports no material uncertainties regarding its ability to continue operating and maintains a diversified income stream despite high competition for grant funding. Its FY2025 accounts were independently examined.

Who funds MORTAL FOOLS?

Funders whose own accounts filings name MORTAL FOOLS as a grant recipient include THE BERNICIA FOUNDATION, SIR ROBERT GEFFERY'S ALMSHOUSE TRUST, THE JOICEY TRUST, THE VIRGIN MONEY FOUNDATION.

Known funders

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

FunderYearAmountPurpose (as stated by the funder)
THE BERNICIA FOUNDATIONFY2026£10k
SIR ROBERT GEFFERY'S ALMSHOUSE TRUSTFY2023£2kGrant funding of activities
THE JOICEY TRUSTFY2026£2k
THE VIRGIN MONEY FOUNDATIONFY2021£500Community Anchors' Fund / General Grants

Government & lottery funding

Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).

FunderDateAmountPurpose
Community Foundation North East19/03/2026£5kGrant to Mortal Fools
Community Foundation North East22/01/2026£1kGrant to Mortal Fools
Community Foundation North East15/01/2026£3kGrant to Mortal Fools
Community Foundation North East12/06/2025£5kGrant to Mortal Fools
Community Foundation North East02/04/2025£3kGrant to Mortal Fools
Postcode Lottery10/02/2025£50kMillionaire Street 2025 02w4 Year 1
Community Foundation North East23/01/2025£1kGrant to Mortal Fools
Community Foundation North East28/11/2024£5kGrant to Mortal Fools
Community Foundation North East06/06/2024£2kGrant to Mortal Fools
Community Foundation North East18/04/2024£3kGrant to Mortal Fools
Community Foundation North East23/03/2023£2kGrant to Mortal Fools
Community Foundation North East16/03/2023£10kGrant to Mortal Fools
Community Foundation North East16/03/2023£5kGrant to Mortal Fools
Community Foundation North East10/02/2023£3kGrant to Mortal Fools
Community Foundation North East10/02/2023£10kGrant to Mortal Fools
Community Foundation North East26/01/2023£1kGrant to Mortal Fools
Community Foundation North East17/11/2022£5kGrant to Mortal Fools
Community Foundation North East20/10/2022£5kGrant to Mortal Fools
Community Foundation North East28/07/2022£3kGrant to Mortal Fools
The National Lottery Community Fund08/04/2022£10kACE Joy - a young people's project for community wellbeing
Community Foundation North East23/02/2022£2kA grant to Mortal Fools
Community Foundation North East17/02/2022£6kA grant to Mortal Fools
Community Foundation North East03/02/2022£1kA grant to Mortal Fools
Community Foundation North East13/01/2022£5kA grant to Mortal Fools
Community Foundation North East03/06/2021£15kA grant to Mortal Fools

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 FIFTY THREE TWO.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
MORTAL FOOLS£620k—0above—no doubt
FIFTY THREE TWO FY2025£139k—0unclear—no doubt
SHALLAL FY2025£147k—0below—no doubt
FOR CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE FY2025£1.5m—0unclear1.0%no doubt
CAN'T SIT STILL FY2025£202k—0unclear—no doubt
CROYDON YOUTH THEATRE ORGANISATION FY2025£140k—0unclear—no doubt

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