THE PALAEONTOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

Registered charity 1168330 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as PALASS

To support the science of palaeontology and related subjects by publication of original research, by the holding of meetings, by the award of grants, and by such other means as the trustees may determine from time to time

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

Latest income

£589k

Latest spending

£546k

Registered

2016

Accounts read

FY2024

Financial health, per its FY2024 accounts

The accounts state that the charity holds unrestricted reserves of £951,121, which exceeds its stated policy target of maintaining reserves sufficient to fund at least one year’s expenditure. The charity reports a net income of £84,949 for the year and confirms there are no material uncertainties regarding its ability to continue as a going concern.

Automated summary of the FY2024 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Reserves policy: one year's expenditure (held: £951k)

“The Association maintains a minimum of General Fund reserves at a level sufficient to fund at least one year’s expenditure, based on a three-year average of expenditure, in addition to Designated Fund reserves.” — page 9

Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts independently examined (not a full audit). Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

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

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/12/2024)

Total income

£589k

Total spending

£546k

Cost of raising funds

£24k

Reserves (reported)

£951k

Employees

Reported reserves equal ~20.9 months of spending — in the top quarter for charities its size (median 5.2 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (92% 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: 4.1% of total income — below the median for charities its size (4.9%) (benchmarks).

Register events

Received assets from another charity (12/09/2017) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

Dr Alan Richard Tozer Spencer
Dr Darja Dankina
Dr Harriet Bethany Drage
Dr IMRAN ALEXANDER RAHMAN
Dr Joseph Neil Keating
Dr Laura Beatriz Porro
Dr Luke Alexander Parry
Dr Martin Ross Smith
Dr Michelle Renae Stocker
Dr Miriam Andrea Slodownik
Dr Nidia Alvarez-Armada
Dr PAUL SCHROEDER-WINROW
Dr Richard Peter Dearden
Dr Thomas George Clements
Prof. Daniela Natalie Schmidt
Professor Barry Harvey Lomax
Professor Crispin Thomas Stephen Little
Professor Michael James Benton OBE FRS
Professor Philip Conrad James Donoghue FRS

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

Operates in: Argentina · Australia · Austria · Belgium · Brazil · Canada · Chile · China · Colombia · Czech Republic · Denmark · Estonia

Income and spending

Financial year end	Income	Spending
31/12/2024	£589k	£546k
31/12/2023	£465k	£485k
31/12/2022	£394k	£487k
31/12/2021	£399k	£346k
31/12/2020	£405k	£361k

Common questions

Is THE PALAEONTOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION financially healthy?

Per its FY2024 accounts: The accounts state that the charity holds unrestricted reserves of £951,121, which exceeds its stated policy target of maintaining reserves sufficient to fund at least one year’s expenditure. The charity reports a net income of £84,949 for the year and confirms there are no material uncertainties regarding its ability to continue as a going concern. Its FY2024 accounts were independently examined.

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
THE DAVID FAMILY FOUNDATION	1	£8k
M J CAMP CHARITABLE FOUNDATION	1	£1k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR LIMITED.

ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR LIMITED income £675k
ANATOMICAL SOCIETY income £1.7m
THE GEOLOGISTS' ASSOCIATION income £326k
QUATERNARY RESEARCH ASSOCIATION income £124k
SEFTON PARK PALM HOUSE PRESERVATION TRUST income £981k
FRESHWATER BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION income £1.0m

Side by side with its peers

Charity	Income	Top pay band	Staff >£60k	Reserves vs policy	Fundraising cost	Going concern
THE PALAEONTOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION	£589k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR LIMITED FY2024	£675k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
ANATOMICAL SOCIETY FY2025	£1.7m	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
THE GEOLOGISTS' ASSOCIATION FY2024	£326k	—	0	above	—	no doubt
QUATERNARY RESEARCH ASSOCIATION FY2025	£124k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
SEFTON PARK PALM HOUSE PRESERVATION TRUST FY2025	£981k	£60,001 - £70,000	1	unclear	—	no doubt

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