BRIGHTER SOUND LTD

Registered charity 1154803 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as BRIGHTER SOUND

Inspiring and creative music-making projects & activities including residencies, workshops, courses and training for children, young people, emerging professional musicians and adult learners. Consultation and support for the music education sector and strategic development of the music offer for the region with emphasis on children in challenging circumstances and emerging musicians.

Objects

TO ACT AS A RESOURCE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE LIVING IN [ENTER IF REQUIRED ] BY PROVIDING ADVICE AND ASSISTANCE AND ORGANISING PROGRAMMES OF PHYSICAL, EDUCATIONAL AND OTHER ACTIVITIES AS A MEANS OF:(A) ADVANCING IN LIFE AND HELPING YOUNG PEOPLE BY DEVELOPING THEIR SKILLS, CAPACITIES AND CAPABILITIES TO ENABLE THEM TO PARTICIPATE IN SOCIETY AS INDEPENDENT, MATURE AND RESPONSIBLE INDIVIDUALS; (B) ADVANCING EDUCATION, PARTICULARLY IN MUSIC; (C) RELIEVING UNEMPLOYMENT; (D) PROVIDING RECREATIONAL AND LEISURE TIME ACTIVITY IN THE INTERESTS OF SOCIAL WELFARE FOR PEOPLE LIVING IN THE AREA OF BENEFIT WHO HAVE NEED BY REASON OF THEIR YOUTH, AGE, INFIRMITY OR DISABILITY, POVERTY OR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES WITH A VIEW TO IMPROVING THE CONDITIONS OF LIFE OF SUCH PERSONS. ADVANCING EDUCATION IN THE ARTS BY PROVIDING TRAINING IN MUSIC, INCLUDING WORKING WITH EMERGING MUSICIANS WHO HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO FIND, OR NEED SUPPORT IN FINDING EMPLOYMENT.

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 · Economic/community Development/employment · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Manchester, North West, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity reported a small surplus of £7,440 on unrestricted funds, resulting in free reserves of £38,201. Per the trustees' report, these free reserves remain lower than the targeted policy of £60,000, which represents approximately three months of fixed running costs. The trustees expressed comfort in the organisation's viability as a going concern, citing secured work and a stable core cost base despite a challenging funding environment.

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

What the accounts disclose

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.

• Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
• Campaigns and political activity 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
• Volunteer management

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.

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

Reported reserves equal ~0.7 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 5.2 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (69% 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: 2.3% of total income — below the median for charities its size (4.9%) (benchmarks).

Register events

• Received assets from another charity (18/05/2026) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

• Dr Virginia Ann Tandychair · trustee of 1 other charity
• Amalie Bronwen Briden
• Andy Lovatt
• Matthew Wilde
• Michael John Ball
• Rachel Davies
• Robert Matthew Shaw
• Sarah Biggerstaff
• Thomas Fazal Rabbani
• Wing Hon Anthony Lee

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

Operates in: Throughout England

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 ALL IN SOUND.

• ALL IN SOUND income £46k
• BRIGHTER FUTURE INITIATIVE income £30k
• SOUNDS OF INTENT income £31k
• BRIGHTER COMMUNITIES LIMITED income £390k
• SOUNDCASTLE LTD income £326k
• BRISTOL MUSIC TRUST income £14.4m

Side by side with its peers

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