EMPOWER COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

Registered charity 1161019 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

Empower Community Foundation oversees, as trustee, local community funds that receive a share of surplus revenues from renewable energy projects invested by Empower Community through, initially Empower Community Solar LLP and Drove Lane Solar Park CIC and New Mains of Guynd Solar Park CIC.

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

Latest income

£5.1m

Latest spending

£5.3m

Registered

2015

Accounts read

FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the Group has total net liabilities of £3,521,930 and unrestricted funds in deficit. The auditor has reported a material uncertainty regarding the Group's ability to continue as a going concern due to significant external debt obligations and the dependency of the subsidiary Consensus Power Trading on financial support from the wider Group.

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

What the accounts disclose

Reserves policy: sufficient to enable its project and donor activities to be undertaken year on year once funding is received (held: £-3.5m)

“The Group aims to maintain a level of reserves in future sufficient to enable its project and donor activities to be undertaken year on year once funding is received.” — page 6

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Going concern: material uncertainty disclosed

“We draw attention to note 2.3 in the financial statements, which indicates that events and conditions exist that give rise to a material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt on the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern.” — page 11

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: Empower Community Management LLP settled invoices totalling £Nil. At the year end, a balance of £50,238 is due from Empower Community Management LLP. This loan is unsecured, interest free and repayable on demand.

“During the year, Empower Community Management LLP settled invoices totalling £Nil (2024 - £Nil). At the year end, a balance of £50,238 (2024 - £6,710) is due from Empower Community Management LLP. This loan is unsecured, interest free and repayable on demand.” — page 47

“During the year Empower Community Foundation advanced funds of £227,360 (2024 - £Nil) to Universal Energy Developments Limited, a company with connected directors.” — page 47

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: Universal Energy Developments Limited. Advanced funds of £227,360.

“During the year, Empower Community Management LLP settled invoices totalling £Nil (2024 - £Nil). At the year end, a balance of £50,238 (2024 - £6,710) is due from Empower Community Management LLP. This loan is unsecured, interest free and repayable on demand.” — page 47

“During the year Empower Community Foundation advanced funds of £227,360 (2024 - £Nil) to Universal Energy Developments Limited, a company with connected directors.” — page 47

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by MHA. Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

Year-over-year changes

Going concern: no going-concern doubt (FY2024) → material uncertainty (FY2025).

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

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

Total income

£5.1m

Total spending

£5.3m

Cost of raising funds

£4.2m

Reserves (reported)

£0

Employees

Reported reserves equal ~0.0 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Other trading 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: 82.3% of total income — above the 90th percentile for charities its size (median 5.2%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

ALEX GRAYSONchair
Harish Chhaganlal Kotecha
Matthew Thomas Pitt

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

Operates in: Scotland · Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Financial year end	Income	Spending
31/03/2025	£5.1m	£5.3m
31/03/2024	£5.6m	£4.6m
31/03/2023	£3.3m	£3.2m
31/03/2022	£2.7m	£2.9m
31/03/2021	£99k	£194k

Common questions

Is EMPOWER COMMUNITY FOUNDATION financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the Group has total net liabilities of £3,521,930 and unrestricted funds in deficit. The auditor has reported a material uncertainty regarding the Group's ability to continue as a going concern due to significant external debt obligations and the dependency of the subsidiary Consensus Power Trading on financial support from the wider Group. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by MHA.

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
GOLDMAN SACHS GIVES (UK)	1	£2.2m
LOCAL TRUST	1	£1.1m
THE WESTMINSTER FOUNDATION	1	£400k
COVENTRY BUILDING SOCIETY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION	1	£312k
THE BARROW CADBURY TRUST	1	£295k
THE ALAN EDWARD HIGGS CHARITY	1	£250k
THE JABBS FOUNDATION	1	£210k
THE FOYLE FOUNDATION	1	£200k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS FOR LANCASHIRE AND MERSEYSIDE.

COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS FOR LANCASHIRE AND MERSEYSIDE income £4.4m
THE BAYWIND ENERGY COMMUNITY TRUST income £177k
CIVIC POWER FUND income £3.4m
EMPOWER - THE EMERGING MARKETS FOUNDATION LIMITED income £3.7m
FRUGAL EMPOWERMENT FOUNDATION income £262k
HEART OF ENGLAND COMMUNITY FOUNDATION income £13.6m

Side by side with its peers

Charity	Income	Top pay band	Staff >£60k	Reserves vs policy	Fundraising cost	Going concern
EMPOWER COMMUNITY FOUNDATION	£5.1m	—	0	unclear	—	material uncertainty
COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS FOR LANCASHIRE AND MERSEYSIDE FY2025	£4.4m	—	—	above	—	no doubt
THE BAYWIND ENERGY COMMUNITY TRUST FY2025	£177k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
CIVIC POWER FUND FY2025	£3.4m	—	—	within	—	no doubt
EMPOWER - THE EMERGING MARKETS FOUNDATION LIMITED FY2025	£3.7m	£130,001 - £140,000	—	above	9.6%	no doubt
FRUGAL EMPOWERMENT FOUNDATION FY2025	£262k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt

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