RYE ARTS FESTIVAL

Registered charity 1175309 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

Rye Arts Festival's primary activity is to provide an annual Arts Festival each September.

Objects

TO ADVANCE EDUCATION FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT BY PROMOTING AND PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE APPRECIATION,UNDERSTANDING AND ENJOYMENT OF THE ARTS AND IN PARTICULAR OF MUSIC, OPERA, DANCE AND DRAMA, FILM, LITERATURE AND VISUAL ARTS, THROUGH THE PROMOTION AND RUNNING OF AN ANNUAL ARTS FESTIVAL IN RYE AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS, AND SUCH OTHER ACTIVITIES AS THE TRUSTEES SHALL FROM TIME TO TIME DETERMINE.

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

Causes: Arts/culture/heritage/science · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Rother, South East, England (from the postcode on the register)

Latest income

£87k

Latest spending

£79k

Registered

2017

Accounts read

FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity generated a surplus of £8,212 for the year ended 31 December 2025, increasing its unrestricted reserves to £68,697. The trustees consider this reserve level appropriate to cover management costs and plan for future festivals. The charity is run almost entirely by unpaid volunteers and has no staff employed during the year.

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

What the accounts disclose

Largest income source: Charitable activities (71% of income)

“Charitable activities 3 62,269” — page 8

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Reserves policy: sufficient reserves, which in the opinion of the Trustees, allow them to cover management and administration costs and plan for future years’ Festivals (held: £69k)

“The policy of the Trustees is to maintain sufficient reserves, which in the opinion of the Trustees, allow them to cover management and administration costs and plan for future years’ Festivals.” — page 6

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

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.

Complaints policy and procedures
Engaging external speakers at charity events policy and procedures
Financial reserves policy and procedures
Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
Internal risk management policy and procedures
Investing charity funds policy and procedures
Safeguarding policy and procedures
Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
Social media policy and procedures
Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
Trustee expenses policy and procedures

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 31/12/2025

Volunteers: 20

Self-declared on the annual return for the financial year ending 31/12/2024

Volunteers: 20

Self-declared on the annual return for the financial year ending 31/12/2023

Volunteers: 10

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

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Rye Arts Festival CIO (matched by registered charity number).

Register events

Received assets from another charity (21/05/2018) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

ANDREW PETER STUART · trustee of 1 other charity
Arabella Ansar
Catherine Bruce
David Angell
Michael Boyd

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

Operates in: East Sussex

Income and spending

Financial year end	Income	Spending
31/12/2025	£87k	£79k
31/12/2024	£73k	£63k
31/12/2023	£75k	£56k
31/12/2022	£75k	£69k
31/12/2021	£81k	£88k

Common questions

Is RYE ARTS FESTIVAL financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity generated a surplus of £8,212 for the year ended 31 December 2025, increasing its unrestricted reserves to £68,697. The trustees consider this reserve level appropriate to cover management costs and plan for future festivals. The charity is run almost entirely by unpaid volunteers and has no staff employed during the year. Its FY2025 accounts were independently examined.

Who funds RYE ARTS FESTIVAL?

Funders whose own accounts filings name RYE ARTS FESTIVAL as a grant recipient include THE JOHN COATES CHARITABLE TRUST.

Known funders

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

Funder	Year	Amount	Purpose (as stated by the funder)
THE JOHN COATES CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2026	£2k

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
UBS UK Donor-Advised Foundation	1	£36k
THE EVAN CORNISH FOUNDATION	1	£35k
THE LIZ AND TERRY BRAMALL FOUNDATION	1	£15k
THE ELMLEY FOUNDATION	1	£4k
SHEFFIELD TOWN TRUST	1	£3k
THE EARL FITZWILLIAM CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£2k
THE SAMUEL STOREY FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£700
GERALD FINZI TRUST	1	£250

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with HASLEMERE FESTIVAL.

HASLEMERE FESTIVAL income £91k
THE FESTIVAL OF CHICHESTER income £32k
HEXHAM ABBEY FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS income £34k
THE RYE ART GALLERY TRUST income £160k
BEWDLEY FESTIVAL LIMITED income £86k
WOOBURN FESTIVAL SOCIETY LIMITED income £34k

Side by side with its peers

Charity	Income	Top pay band	Staff >£60k	Reserves vs policy	Fundraising cost	Going concern
RYE ARTS FESTIVAL	£87k	—	0	above	—	no doubt
HASLEMERE FESTIVAL FY2025	£91k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
THE FESTIVAL OF CHICHESTER FY2025	£32k	—	—	unclear	—	no doubt
HEXHAM ABBEY FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS FY2025	£34k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
THE RYE ART GALLERY TRUST FY2025	£160k	—	0	above	—	no doubt
BEWDLEY FESTIVAL LIMITED FY2025	£86k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt

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