The Bright Foundation

Registered charity 1179452 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as THE CHILDREN'S ART AND EDUCATION FOUNDATION

Arts education charity with two venues in Hastings: Barn Theatre and Museum: 48 seat children's theatre, toy museum, 24 acres of land; and Benbow Arts Space: youth filmmaking space & early cinema exhibition. Activities:- Schools and Groups - cultural education- Public events and theatre shows- Creative skills and employability programmes- Improving access for disadvantaged children

Objects

1. TO ADVANCE IN LIFE AND RELIEVE THE NEEDS OF DISABLED AND/OR DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE THROUGH:(A) ADVANCING EDUCATION IN PARTICULAR (BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY) IN THE ARTS, THE HISTORY OF THEATRE AND THE MAKING OF PERIOD TOYS, BY THE ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF A THEATRE, A MUSEUM AND BY PROVIDING OR SUPPORTING THE PROVISION OF ARTISTIC WORKSHOPS AND OTHER FACILITIES AND ACTIVITIES WHICH WILL ENCOURAGE GREATER UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATION OF THE ARTS;(B) PRESERVING AND PROTECTING THEIR MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH, IN PARTICULAR BY PROVIDING OR ASSISTING IN THE PROVISION OF TACTILE SENSORY ACTIVITIES, AND OTHER ACTIVITIES AND FACILITIES PROMOTING MINDFULNESS MEDITATION AND RELAXATION;(C) PROVIDING RECREATIONAL AND LEISURE TIME ACTIVITIES PROVIDED IN THE INTEREST OF SOCIAL WELFARE, DESIGNED TO IMPROVE THEIR CONDITIONS OF LIFE;(D) PROVIDING FACILITIES AND ACTIVITIES WHICH DEVELOP THEIR SKILLS, CAPACITIES AND CAPABILITIES TO ENABLE THEM TO PARTICIPATE IN SOCIETY AS MATURE AND RESPONSIBLE INDIVIDUALS; AND2. SUCH OTHER CHARITABLE PURPOSES (ACCORDING TO THE LAW OF ENGLAND AND WALES) AS THE TRUSTEES THINK FIT FROM TIME TO TIME.

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 · Education/training · Disability · Arts/culture/heritage/science · Environment/conservation/heritage · Economic/community Development/employment · website · Get email alerts

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

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity is not currently financially viable without financial support from a related company, Cosprop Limited, creating a dependency risk. However, the trustees confirm going concern status based on a minimum 12-month funding commitment from the related party and sufficient cash balances. The charity holds significant unrestricted reserves of £1,348,460, though only £5,577 is available as general funds, with the remainder designated for capital projects and programme development.

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

What the accounts disclose

Accounts independently examined (not a full audit). Discloses 4 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.

• 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
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Safeguarding policy and procedures
• Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
• 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.

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

Property (HM Land Registry)

1 registered title in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (0 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 31/08/2025)

Reported reserves equal ~0.3 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 5.2 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Donations and legacies (94% 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: 0.0% of total income — below the median for charities its size (4.9%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

• JOHN BRIGHTchair
• Abby-Lee Widger
• Christopher Garlick
• Dr Claire Smith
• Gaynor Margaret Nebel
• JOHN RICHARD HAYWARD
• Katherine Spicer · trustee of 1 other charity
• LYNDA KAY FLETCHER
• SEAN WILLIAMS
• UNA NICHOLSON

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

Operates in: East Sussex

Income and spending

Common questions

Known funders

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

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.

Charities like this

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

• HASTINGS ARTS FORUM income £34k
• HASTINGS THRIVES income £17k
• Hastings Contemporary income £1.3m

Side by side with its peers

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