ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION FUND

Registered charity 1199692 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

Support organisations that protect biodiverse hotspots, rejuvenate degraded landscapes and promote environmental activism.

Causes: General Charitable Purposes · Grant history (this charity is a funder) · website · Get email alerts

Latest income

£32.3m

Latest spending

£15.5m

Registered

2022

Accounts read

FY2024

Financial health, per its FY2024 accounts

The accounts state that unrestricted funds increased significantly to £19,709,738, supported by £32 million in donations and £327,978 in investment income. The charity reports adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, with no material uncertainties identified by the auditors regarding its going concern status.

Automated summary of the FY2024 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Reserves policy: adequate funds for its commitments for charitable projects across the globe (held: £19.7m)

“The charity's policy is to maintain adequate funds for its commitments for charitable projects across the globe.”

Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: A trustee loan

“£5,000 (2023: £5,000) was owed to a trustee at the year end. The balance is interest free and repayable on demand.” — page 22

“During the year, £9,773 (2023: £5,227) of expenditure incurred on behalf of the Ecological Restoration Fund was recharged from a trust controlled by one of the trustees.” — page 22

Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: Recharged expenses from a trustee-controlled trust

“£5,000 (2023: £5,000) was owed to a trustee at the year end. The balance is interest free and repayable on demand.” — page 22

“During the year, £9,773 (2023: £5,227) of expenditure incurred on behalf of the Ecological Restoration Fund was recharged from a trust controlled by one of the trustees.” — page 22

Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: Trustee bank guarantee

“£5,000 (2023: £5,000) was owed to a trustee at the year end. The balance is interest free and repayable on demand.” — page 22

“During the year, £9,773 (2023: £5,227) of expenditure incurred on behalf of the Ecological Restoration Fund was recharged from a trust controlled by one of the trustees.” — page 22

Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Bright Grahame Murray. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

Leadership, per the charity’s website

Daniel Hotz — Chair & Founder (source)
Lenke Bálint — Executive Director (source)
Olivia Couchman — Grants Director (source)
Francis Shaw — Director of Chair’s Grants (source)

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.

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/12/2024)

Total income

£32.3m

Total spending

£15.5m

Reserves (reported)

£19.7m

Employees

Reported reserves equal ~15.2 months of spending — in the top quarter for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Donations and legacies (99% 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 (3.8%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

Daniel Hotzchair
Dr Anna Lisbet Kristina Rausing
SIGRID RAUSING

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

Operates in: Throughout England

Income and spending

Financial year end	Income	Spending
31/12/2024	£32.3m	£15.5m
31/12/2023	£16.0m	£13.8m

Common questions

Is ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION FUND financially healthy?

Per its FY2024 accounts: The accounts state that unrestricted funds increased significantly to £19,709,738, supported by £32 million in donations and £327,978 in investment income. The charity reports adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, with no material uncertainties identified by the auditors regarding its going concern status. Its FY2024 accounts were audited by Bright Grahame Murray.

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
THE MILLENNIUM OAK TRUST	1	—
Becht Foundation	1	£1.0m
SWIRE 2765	1	£737k
ASPEN TRUST	1	£105k
BACON FOUNDATION LTD	1	£60k
THE BRITFORD BRIDGE TRUST	1	£35k
CALISEN IMPACT CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£12k
THE ORP FOUNDATION	1	£10k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with THE ECOLOGY TRUST.

THE ECOLOGY TRUST income £2.0m
RESTORE OUR PLANET income £162k
INTERNATIONAL ECO FUND income £138k
ECOLOGICAL CONTINUITY TRUST income £157k
Becht Foundation income £8.5m
THE WILDLIFE AID FOUNDATION income £2.0m

Side by side with its peers

Charity	Income	Top pay band	Staff >£60k	Reserves vs policy	Fundraising cost	Going concern
ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION FUND	£32.3m	—	—	unclear	—	no doubt
THE ECOLOGY TRUST FY2025	£2.0m	—	0	below	—	no doubt
RESTORE OUR PLANET FY2025	£162k	—	—	unclear	—	no doubt
INTERNATIONAL ECO FUND FY2025	£138k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
ECOLOGICAL CONTINUITY TRUST FY2024	£157k	—	0	above	12.8%	no doubt
Becht Foundation FY2024	£8.5m	$250,001 - $260,000	2	unclear	—	no doubt

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