Charity Accounts Intelreading the accounts so you don’t have to

GLOBAL INNOVATION FUND

Registered charity 1171353 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as GIF

GIF finds, funds and scales-up cost-effective, evidence-based social innovations that have the potential to measurably improve the lives of millions of people living on $5 a day or less in the developing world. GIF deploys grant and risk capital instruments to support a range of innovators across the globe to accelerate the development, rigorous testing, and scaling of innovations.

Causes: The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty · Overseas Aid/famine Relief · Economic/community Development/employment · Grant history (this charity is a funder) · website · Get email alerts

Latest income
£16.6m
Latest spending
£10.5m
Registered
2017
Accounts read
FY2024

Financial health, per its FY2024 accounts

The accounts state that free reserves of $2.9m were below the approved policy target of $5m, though the trustees expect reserves to increase within 12-18 months following new funding negotiations. The charity reports sufficient cash runway to cover operational expenditure until Q3 2026 and confirms it is a going concern.

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

What the accounts disclose

Reserves position: below the charity's own stated reserves policy (held: £2.9m; policy: $5m)
“Free reserves are lower than that stipulated within the approved policy” — page 10
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Trading subsidiary: GIF Growth Limited
“GIF has a second 100% owned subsidiary, GIF Growth Limited, a company limited by shares. The subsidiary began operations in 2024.” — page 9
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Crowe U.K. LLP. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

What the charity says about itself (2025)

From its own voluntary annual review / impact report — the charity’s account of its work, distinct from the statutory accounts analysed above.

The report claims 138 million people have been reached to date, with 64 million reached specifically in 2025.
“138 million people reached to date, 64 million people in 2025 of which 31.5 million are women.”
The report estimates a social rate of return of $9 for every $1 invested, based on net social benefits.
“On this basis, each $1 invested in GIF is already returning an estimated $9 in net social benefits.”

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

Total income
£16.6m
Total spending
£10.5m
Cost of raising funds
£392k
Reserves (reported)
£2.3m
Employees
0

Reported reserves equal ~2.7 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Donations and legacies (98% 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: 2.4% of total income — below the median for charities its size (3.8%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

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

Operates in: Afghanistan · Albania · Algeria · American Samoa · Angola · Argentina · Armenia · Azerbaijan · Bangladesh · Belarus · Belize · Benin

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/12/2024£16.6m£10.5m
31/12/2023£5.4m£8.2m
31/12/2022£7.9m£17.6m
31/12/2021£6.2m£17.8m
31/12/2020£18.1m£18.1m

Common questions

Is GLOBAL INNOVATION FUND financially healthy?

Per its FY2024 accounts: The accounts state that free reserves of $2.9m were below the approved policy target of $5m, though the trustees expect reserves to increase within 12-18 months following new funding negotiations. The charity reports sufficient cash runway to cover operational expenditure until Q3 2026 and confirms it is a going concern. Its FY2024 accounts were audited by Crowe U.K. LLP.

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.

FunderSimilar charities fundedAmount to them
AKO FOUNDATION1£800k
THE JANE GOODALL INSTITUTE (UK)1£206k
PRISM THE GIFT FUND1£50k
MONTPELIER FOUNDATION LIMITED1£30k
NEWBY TRUST LIMITED1£10k
WOODCOCK CHARITABLE TRUST1£5k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with GLOBAL SCHOOLS FORUM.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
GLOBAL INNOVATION FUND£16.6m——below—no doubt
GLOBAL SCHOOLS FORUM FY2025£2.8m——unclear—no doubt
INTERNATIONAL FINANCE FACILITY FOR IMMUNISATION COMPANY FY2024£36.8m—0unclear—no doubt
GLOBAL INSTITUTE OF CREATIVE THINKING LIMITED FY2024£830k—0below—noted
GAFIRS FY2025£358k—0unclear—noted
The Global Returns Project Limited FY2026£1.9m—0unclear—no doubt

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