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.
Causes: Arts/culture/heritage/science · website · Get email alerts
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
Largest income source: Grants (91% of income)
“SDC Project - National Lottery Heritage Grant” — page 16
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Reserves policy: half a year of general running and maintenance costs (held: £157k)
“The charity has a formal reserves policy, in which the trustees try to keep enough funds in reserve to cover half a year of general running and maintenance costs.” — page 5
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Accounts audited by Stopfords (Mansfield) Ltd. Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.
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)
Cost of raising funds
£10k
Reported reserves equal ~8.6 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 (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 (5.2%) (benchmarks).
Register events
- Received assets from another charity (14/02/2023) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
- Dr Stephen Wallace MBEchair
- Brendan Scoular
- Christopher John Dakin
- Craig Keith Peter Mapleston
- Michael Gerard Rhodes Lowe
- Michael Gerard Rhodes Lowe
- Nigel John Cunnington
- 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
Is MANSFIELD AND SUTTON ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY CIO financially healthy?
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. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Stopfords (Mansfield) Ltd.
Who funds MANSFIELD AND SUTTON ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY CIO?
Funders whose own accounts filings name MANSFIELD AND SUTTON ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY CIO as a grant recipient include GARFIELD WESTON FOUNDATION, THE FOYLE FOUNDATION.
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.
Side by side with its peers
Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.