MANSFIELD AND SUTTON ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY CIO

Registered charity 1187777 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as Sherwood Observatory

Promoting and advancing public education in the theory and practice of astronomy and related subjects.

Objects

The object of the CIO is to advance the education of the public for the public benefit in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and incorporating the arts ), with particular focus on the theory and practice of astronomy and related subjects.In furtherance of this object the CIO may:(1) encourage and promote public interest in astronomy, space exploration and related scientific disciplines;(2) provide activities, events, training, lectures, advice, guidance and information relating to astronomy, space science and other STEM subjects;(3) provide facilities and opportunities for participation in astronomical observation, experimentation and practical learning;(4) undertake and promote research in astronomy and related scientific fields, and to publish or otherwise disseminate the useful results of such research;(5) use history, creativity and the application of the arts as tools to engage and educate new audiences in astronomy, space exploration and related STEM disciplines.

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: Ashfield, East Midlands, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that unrestricted reserves increased to £156,584 and restricted reserves to £6,709,439, resulting in total charity funds of £6,866,023. The trustees report that funds are in a good position with sufficient operating income and funding for the Science Discovery Centre, and the auditor confirmed there are no material uncertainties regarding the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

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

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by Stopfords (Mansfield) Ltd. 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.

• Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
• Complaints handling
• Complaints policy and procedures
• 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
• Volunteer management

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.

Annual return filing dates (Charity Commission record)

Of its last 5 annual returns with a recorded received date, 1 was received after the due date: year ending 31/03/2021 (received 01/02/2022, 1 day after the 31/01/2022 due date).

Due and received dates as recorded in the Commission’s annual-return data; the data does not say whether an extension was agreed. Source: this charity’s annual returns on the Charity Commission register.

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Mansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society (matched by registered charity number).

Funders the charity credits

Named as funders/supporters on the charity’s own website (the charity’s claim, distinct from accounts-verified grants).

• Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) — “In 2021 and 2023 we were awarded substantial blocks of funding from UK Government sponsored by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Loca…” (source page)
• Ashfield District Council — “These grants are administered and distributed through Ashfield District Council in partnership with the Discover Ashfield Board and they hav…” (source page)
• The Wolfson Foundation — “With this backing we were then able to secure further core funding from Ashfield District Council, The Wolfson Foundation, The National Lott…” (source page)
• The National Lottery Heritage Fund — “With this backing we were then able to secure further core funding from Ashfield District Council, The Wolfson Foundation, The National Lott…” (source page)
• The Garfield Weston Foundation — “With this backing we were then able to secure further core funding from Ashfield District Council, The Wolfson Foundation, The National Lott…” (source page)
• The Foyle Foundation — “With this backing we were then able to secure further core funding from Ashfield District Council, The Wolfson Foundation, The National Lott…” (source page)

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

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2025)

Reported reserves equal ~8.6 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 4.7 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Donations and legacies (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: 0.4% of total income — below the median for charities its size (5.3%) (benchmarks).

Register events

• Received assets from another charity (14/02/2023) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

• Dr Stephen Wallace MBEchair
• Adam Matthew Archer Roberts
• Brendan Scoular
• Christopher John Dakin
• Julian Best
• Julian Krishna
• Michael Gerard Rhodes Lowe
• Michael Gerard Rhodes Lowe
• Nigel John Cunnington
• Nina Claire Archer Spencer
• Paula Timberlake
• Shaun William Pollard
• Stephen Arthur Binns

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

Operates in: Throughout England

Income and spending

Common questions

Known funders

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

Government & lottery funding

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

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 ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY.

• ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY income £7.1m
• NATIONAL SPACE CENTRE income £9.9m
• THE UK RADIO ASTRONOMY ASSOCIATION income £41k
• THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE TRUST IN GREAT BRITAIN income £437k
• MOSSBOURNE CHARITABLE TRUST CIO income £587k
• THE ADAM SMITH RESEARCH TRUST income £447k

Side by side with its peers

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