HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

Registered charity 1156082 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

Hertfordshire Community Foundation has five main areas of activity: * Development and management of charitable funds * Grant making * Capacity building, community support and cross section liaison * Research * Other services relating to the development and delivery of philanthropy.

Objects

A. THE PROMOTION OF ANY CHARITABLE PURPOSES FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE COMMUNITY IN THE COUNTY OF HERTFORDSHIRE AND ITS IMMEDIATE NEIGHBOURHOOD AND IN PARTICULAR THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION, THE PROTECTION OF GOOD HEALTH BOTH MENTAL AND PHYSICAL AND THE RELIEF OF POVERTY AND SICKNESS; B. OTHER EXCLUSIVELY CHARITABLE PURPOSES.

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

Causes: General Charitable Purposes · The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives · The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty · Grant history (this charity is a funder) · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Welwyn Hatfield, East of England, England (from the postcode on the register)

Latest income

£10.7m

Latest spending

£6.6m

Registered

2014

Accounts read

FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity holds unrestricted reserves of £1,126,470, which the trustees consider sufficient as their policy is to hold six months of operating costs in cash to manage liquidity. The charity reported a surplus of £3,543,450 for the year, with total net assets increasing to £19,915,814, supported by significant growth in endowment funds. The trustees and auditors 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

Highest-paid employee band: more than £70,000 — below the median for charities its size (£130k)

“One employee received employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) during the year of more than £70,000 (2024: one employee received employee benefits of more than £60,000)” — page 25

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Employees paid over £60,000: 1

“One employee received employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) during the year of more than £70,000 (2024: one employee received employee benefits of more than £60,000)” — page 25

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Fundraising cost ratio: 3.0% of fundraised income, as disclosed

“The cost of generating income, as a percentage of total income, was 3% (2024: 3%).”

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Reserves policy: six months of operating costs in cash (reserves figure: £1.1m)

“HCF's policy is to hold six months of operating costs in cash to manage the charity's liquidity.” — page 9

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: Trustees donated £19,125 to the charity.

“During the year, trustees donated a total of £19,125 to the charity (2024: £25,862). £0 (2024: £0) had restrictions placed upon them.” — page 25

“Terry Douris, a Trustee, is a Hertfordshire County Councillor.” — page 25

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: Trustee Terry Douris is a Hertfordshire County Councillor.

“During the year, trustees donated a total of £19,125 to the charity (2024: £25,862). £0 (2024: £0) had restrictions placed upon them.” — page 25

“Terry Douris, a Trustee, is a Hertfordshire County Councillor.” — page 25

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Mercer & Hole LLP. Discloses 6 of 6 completeness components.

Year-over-year changes

Top pay band moved from more than £60,000 (FY2024) to more than £70,000 (FY2025).

Comparing this charity’s FY2024 and FY2025 accounts as analysed by this site.

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
Investing charity funds policy and procedures
Investment
Paying staff
Risk management
Safeguarding policy and procedures
Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
Social media policy and procedures
Trustee conflicts of interest 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.

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

Volunteers: 3
Government income: £2,709,391 — grants £2,709,391 (5); 25% of the £10,709,109 total gross income on the same return
Employees paid over £60,000: 1 (£80,001–£90,000: 1)
Grant-making is its main activity

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

Volunteers: 3
Government income: £76,944 — contracts £76,944 (6); under 1% of the £7,736,483 total gross income on the same return
Employees paid over £60,000: 1 (£70,001–£80,000: 1)
Grant-making is its main activity

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

Volunteers: 3
Government income: £450,205 — contracts £450,205 (16); 7% of the £6,142,270 total gross income on the same return
Employees paid over £60,000: 1 (£60,001–£70,000: 1)
Grant-making is its main activity

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

In the news

Recent coverage mentioning this charity by name (automated match; headlines belong to their publishers).

Hertfordshire Community Foundation Grants (UK) www2.fundsforngos.org · 14/09/2026
Hertfordshire Community Foundation is first-ever charity of the year for Herts police bishopsstortfordindependent.co.uk · 05/01/2026

Corporate structure

Registered company of the charity Companies House 08794474

Leadership, per the charity’s website

James Hopkins — Chair (source)
Robert Voss CBE CStJ — President (source)

Listed on the charity’s own website when we last crawled it; roles may have changed. Pay-band disclosures above are anonymous statutory disclosures and are not attributed to any named individual.

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.

SIDWELL, Laura — director, appointed 01/10/2026on trustee list
WREN, Allison Frances — director, appointed 02/12/2025on trustee list
SACHDEV, Meenal Hasmukh — director, appointed 18/03/2025on trustee list
CAREY, Penelope Jane, Professor — director, appointed 02/10/2024on trustee list
HOPKINS, James Christian — director, appointed 27/09/2023on trustee list
NADIM, Syd Eric — director, appointed 29/03/2023on trustee list
ARROWSMITH, Jonathan David — director, appointed 28/09/2021on trustee list
MACHADO, Augustus Philip Jude — director, appointed 26/09/2019on trustee list
HARVEY, Suzana Rose — director, appointed 26/09/2019on trustee list
WESTLAKE, Suzanne Louise — director, appointed 26/09/2019on trustee list
BURTON, Sally Denise — director, appointed 09/08/2018on trustee list

Official officers record.

Property (HM Land Registry)

2 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (2 freehold). All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

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

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

Total income

£10.7m

Total spending

£6.6m

Cost of raising funds

£259k

Reserves (reported)

£1.1m

Employees

16

Reported reserves equal ~2.0 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 2.4% of total income — below the median for charities its size (3.7%) (benchmarks).

Register events

Received assets from another charity (30/09/2026) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
Received assets from another charity (07/01/2025) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
Received assets from another charity (24/01/2024) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
Received assets from another charity (23/05/2023) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
Received assets from another charity (04/10/2022) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
Received assets from another charity (28/09/2022) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

James Christian Hopkinschair
Augustus Philip Jude Machado
Dr Allison Frances Wren · trustee of 1 other charity
Dr Syd Nadim
Jonathan David Arrowsmith
Laura Jane Sidwell
Meenal Hasmukh Sachdev
Professor Penelope Jane Carey
SALLY DENISE BURTON · trustee of 1 other charity
Suzana Rose Harvey · trustee of 1 other charity
Suzanne Westlake

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

Operates in: Hertfordshire

Income and spending

Financial year end	Income	Spending
31/03/2025	£10.7m	£6.6m
31/03/2024	£7.7m	£6.3m
31/03/2023	£6.1m	£6.1m
31/03/2022	£4.8m	£4.6m
31/03/2021	£3.3m	£2.8m

Common questions

Is HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity holds unrestricted reserves of £1,126,470, which the trustees consider sufficient as their policy is to hold six months of operating costs in cash to manage liquidity. The charity reported a surplus of £3,543,450 for the year, with total net assets increasing to £19,915,814, supported by significant growth in endowment funds. The trustees and auditors confirm there are no material uncertainties regarding the charity's ability to continue as a going concern. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Mercer & Hole LLP.

What does the highest-paid employee of HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION earn?

Per its FY2025 accounts, the highest-paid employee was in the more than £70,000 band, and 1 employees earned over £60,000.

Who funds HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION?

Funders whose own accounts filings name HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION as a grant recipient include THE FRANK LITCHFIELD GENERAL CHARITABLE TRUST, THE 3 TS CHARITABLE TRUST, THE SALISBURY POOL CHARITY COMPRISING THE FIRST MOIETY ESTABLISHED BY CLAUSE 2 OF THE DEED OF DECLARATION DATED 23RD MARCH 1976, THE BATCHWORTH TRUST, FARRER AND CO CHARITABLE TRUST.

Known funders

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

Funder	Year	Amount	Purpose (as stated by the funder)
THE FRANK LITCHFIELD GENERAL CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2024	£25k
THE 3 TS CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2022	£10k
THE SALISBURY POOL CHARITY COMPRISING THE FIRST MOIETY ESTABLISHED BY CLAUSE 2 OF THE DEED OF DECLARATION DATED 23RD MARCH 1976	FY2021	£5k	Social welfare
THE BATCHWORTH TRUST	FY2024	£5k
FARRER AND CO CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2025	£4k
THE FRANK LITCHFIELD GENERAL CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2022	£1k
THE FRANK LITCHFIELD GENERAL CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2025	£1k
CBRE UK CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2022	£250
THE SALISBURY POOL CHARITY COMPRISING THE FIRST MOIETY ESTABLISHED BY CLAUSE 2 OF THE DEED OF DECLARATION DATED 23RD MARCH 1976	FY2022	amount not stated	Social welfare

Government & lottery funding

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

Funder	Date	Amount	Purpose
The National Lottery Community Fund	19/11/2025	£50k	East of England Funding Collaboration
The National Lottery Community Fund	13/03/2015	£10k	Herts Get Set
The National Lottery Community Fund	03/10/2014	£20k	Herts Get Set - Preparing the Voluntary Sector for ESF 2015
The National Lottery Community Fund	19/06/2009	£9k	Hertfordshire Training and Development Consortium (HTDC) Information Portal
The National Lottery Community Fund	22/01/2009	£502k	Getting to the Grassroots:Hertfordshire Small Groups Development Network

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.

Funder	Similar charities funded	Amount to them
ASSOCIATION OF NHS CHARITIES	1	£200k
THE SWALLOW TRUST	1	£35k
THE SIMON & ELIZABETH BATEY CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£32k
Boodles Charitable Trust	1	£26k
THE WO STREET CHARITABLE FOUNDATION	1	£20k
THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF HOLY TRINITY HURDSFIELD	1	£5k
C A REDFERN CHARITABLE FOUNDATION	1	£5k
THE BIRMINGHAM MOSQUE TRUST LIMITED	1	£3k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with HEREFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION.

HEREFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION income £949k
CHESHIRE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION LIMITED income £2.3m
Hertford British Charitable Fund income £2.9m
PETERSFIELD COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION income £79k
HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY NHS TRUST CHARITABLE FUND income £40k
HERTFORDSHIRE BUILDING PRESERVATION TRUST LTD income £144k

Side by side with its peers

Charity	Income	Top pay band	Staff >£60k	Reserves vs policy	Fundraising cost	Going concern
HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION	£10.7m	more than £70,000	1	unclear	3.0%	no doubt
HEREFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FY2025	£949k	—	0	above	—	no doubt
CHESHIRE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION LIMITED FY2025	£2.3m	—	—	unclear	—	no doubt
Hertford British Charitable Fund FY2025	£2.9m	—	—	above	—	no doubt
PETERSFIELD COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION FY2025	£79k	—	0	above	—	no doubt
HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY NHS TRUST CHARITABLE FUND FY2025	£40k	—	0	above	—	no doubt

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