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DFN PROJECT SEARCH

Registered charity 1183834 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also registered in Scotland as SC049891 (OSCR)

The advancement of education and the promotion of equality and inclusion of people with a learning disability and/or who are autistic in employability skills, so as to develop their capabilities that they can gain employment and lead independent and fulfilling lives. We do this through supporting and training partner organisations to deliver the DFN Project SEARCH Supported Internship Programme.

Causes: Education/training · Disability · website · Get email alerts

Latest income
£2.5m
Latest spending
£2.7m
Registered
2019
Accounts read
FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity reported a loss of £221,106 for the year ended 31 August 2025, primarily due to upfront funding costs and staff expansion. Per the trustees' report, unrestricted reserves of £1,296,609 are currently slightly above the stated policy target range of £675,000 to £1,350,000, which represents three to six months of core service funding.

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

What the accounts disclose

Related-party transaction: DFN Project SEARCH paid the DFN Foundation an unrestricted grant of £11,016
“DFN Project SEARCH paid the DFN Foundation an unrestricted grant of £11,016 (2024 £Nil), intended to be used for the shared office facilities, as reported in note 9.” — page 40
“The DFN Foundation paid for the services of the Finance Director employed by DFN Project SEARCH for which invoices were raised for the equivalent employment cost of £16,537 (2024 £18,583).” — page 40
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: DFN Foundation paid for the services of the Finance Director employed by DFN Project SEARCH for which invoices were raised for the equivalent employment cost of £16,537
“DFN Project SEARCH paid the DFN Foundation an unrestricted grant of £11,016 (2024 £Nil), intended to be used for the shared office facilities, as reported in note 9.” — page 40
“The DFN Foundation paid for the services of the Finance Director employed by DFN Project SEARCH for which invoices were raised for the equivalent employment cost of £16,537 (2024 £18,583).” — page 40
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Charges made at cost for the services of the CEO of £449
“DFN Project SEARCH paid the DFN Foundation an unrestricted grant of £11,016 (2024 £Nil), intended to be used for the shared office facilities, as reported in note 9.” — page 40
“The DFN Foundation paid for the services of the Finance Director employed by DFN Project SEARCH for which invoices were raised for the equivalent employment cost of £16,537 (2024 £18,583).” — page 40
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Shared office facilities of £20,698 and other expenses of £8,015 were recharged by DFN Foundation
“DFN Project SEARCH paid the DFN Foundation an unrestricted grant of £11,016 (2024 £Nil), intended to be used for the shared office facilities, as reported in note 9.” — page 40
“The DFN Foundation paid for the services of the Finance Director employed by DFN Project SEARCH for which invoices were raised for the equivalent employment cost of £16,537 (2024 £18,583).” — page 40
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Donation of £1,000 received from the DFN Foundation
“DFN Project SEARCH paid the DFN Foundation an unrestricted grant of £11,016 (2024 £Nil), intended to be used for the shared office facilities, as reported in note 9.” — page 40
“The DFN Foundation paid for the services of the Finance Director employed by DFN Project SEARCH for which invoices were raised for the equivalent employment cost of £16,537 (2024 £18,583).” — page 40
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Dixon Wilson Audit Services LLP. Discloses 3 of 6 completeness components.

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — DFN Project SEARCH (matched by registered charity number).

Leadership, per the charity’s website

Listed on the charity’s own website when we last crawled it; roles may have changed. Pay-band disclosures above are anonymous statutory disclosures and are not attributed to any named individual.

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

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/08/2025)

Total income
£2.5m
Total spending
£2.7m
Cost of raising funds
£259k
Reserves (reported)
£1.3m
Employees
35

Reported reserves equal ~5.7 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Donations and legacies (76% 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: 10.3% of total income — above the median for charities its size (5.2%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

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

Operates in: Ireland · Portugal · Scotland · Spain · Throughout England

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/08/2025£2.5m£2.7m
31/08/2024£2.0m£2.1m
31/08/2023£3.3m£1.9m
31/08/2022£1.1m£874k
31/12/2021£1.1m£879k

Common questions

Is DFN PROJECT SEARCH financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity reported a loss of £221,106 for the year ended 31 August 2025, primarily due to upfront funding costs and staff expansion. Per the trustees' report, unrestricted reserves of £1,296,609 are currently slightly above the stated policy target range of £675,000 to £1,350,000, which represents three to six months of core service funding. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Dixon Wilson Audit Services LLP.

Who funds DFN PROJECT SEARCH?

Funders whose own accounts filings name DFN PROJECT SEARCH as a grant recipient include DAVID FORBES-NIXON FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, THE PEARS FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, SOCIAL BUSINESS TRUST, Leo Lion Foundation, THE WESTMINSTER FOUNDATION.

Shared trustees with funders

Register facts shown side by side: a person serves as trustee of both this charity and a funder whose accounts record grants to it. Shared trusteeship is lawful and common; well-run charities manage it through declared-interest procedures.

Known funders

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

FunderYearAmountPurpose (as stated by the funder)
DAVID FORBES-NIXON FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONFY2021£500kEmployability Project funding
THE PEARS FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONFY2025£330kCore funding
THE PEARS FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONFY2023£300kCore Funding
SOCIAL BUSINESS TRUSTFY2022£282k
SOCIAL BUSINESS TRUSTFY2024£115k
Leo Lion FoundationFY2023£100kSupported internships for young adults with learning disabilities
SOCIAL BUSINESS TRUSTFY2025£40k
SOCIAL BUSINESS TRUSTFY2025£40k
SOCIAL BUSINESS TRUSTFY2025£40k
Leo Lion FoundationFY2024£31kNot specified in detail
THE WESTMINSTER FOUNDATIONFY2025£22kDFN Project Search provides one-year transition to work programmes for young adults with a learning disability or autism spectrum conditions, or both.
THE WESTMINSTER FOUNDATIONFY2024£22kDFN Project Search provides one-year transition to work programme for young adults with a learning disability or autism spectrum conditions, or both.
THE WESTMINSTER FOUNDATIONFY2023£22kDFN Project Search provides one-year transition to work programme for young adults with a learning disability or autism spectrum conditions, or both.
DAVID FORBES-NIXON FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONFY2023£5kEducation and Employability
DAVID FORBES-NIXON FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONFY2024£72Grant funding of activities

Government & lottery funding

Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).

FunderDateAmountPurpose
City Bridge Foundation01/08/2023£250kGrant to DFN Project SEARCH

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
THE EDWARD GOSTLING FOUNDATION1£260k
THE STEVE MORGAN FOUNDATION1£145k
AKO FOUNDATION1£128k
THE GRANT FOUNDATION1£75k
THE BEATRICE LAING TRUST1£50k
CHARITY OF CHARLES CLEMENT WALKER (COMMONLY KNOWN AS THE WALKER TRUST)1£43k
MANTELL GWYNEDD CYF1£20k
YOUNG HARROW FOUNDATION1£19k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with DAVID FORBES-NIXON FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
DFN PROJECT SEARCH£2.5m——unclear—no doubt
DAVID FORBES-NIXON FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION FY2024£319k£70,000 - £79,999—above—no doubt
MISSION EMPLOYABLE FY2025£1.1m—0unclear—no doubt
DRIVE FY2025£25.2m——above—no doubt
PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES AND SUPPORT FY2024£1.2m—0below—no doubt
SEREN FFESTINIOG CYF. FY2025£2.8mUnder £60,0000unclear—no doubt

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