THE ST JOSEPH'S BENWELL CHURCH TRUST

Registered charity 1201951 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

The Trust runs St Joseph's Church, seeking to advance the Christian Religionthrough through teaching, pastoral care, evangelistic outreach, and compassion ministry in the west end of Newcastle and beyond.

Causes: Religious Activities · Grant history (this charity is a funder) · website · Get email alerts

Latest income

£456k

Latest spending

£406k

Registered

2023

Accounts read

FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity held unrestricted reserves of £1,648,266, which significantly exceed its stated policy target of £54,000 to £108,000. The charity reported a surplus of £49,216 for the year, with total income of £455,654 and total expenditure of £406,438.

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

What the accounts disclose

Reserves policy: three to six months of total essential expenditure (held: £1.6m)

“The CIO’s reserves policy is to hold short-term reserves sufficient for working capital – this is estimated to be no less than 3 and 6 months of total essential expenditure - between £54,000 - £108,000.” — page 7

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: Donations from Trustees and related parties

“The CIO received donations from Trustees and their related parties totalling £35,456 (2024: £18,645). In the prior year £5,000 of those donations were restricted, apart from that, no other donations carried any restriction or obligation.” — page 27

“As at the year end the CIO was owed £603 (included in other debtors) (2024: £40,930) from The Jesmond Trust.” — page 27

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: Amount owed by The Jesmond Trust

“The CIO received donations from Trustees and their related parties totalling £35,456 (2024: £18,645). In the prior year £5,000 of those donations were restricted, apart from that, no other donations carried any restriction or obligation.” — page 27

“As at the year end the CIO was owed £603 (included in other debtors) (2024: £40,930) from The Jesmond Trust.” — page 27

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts independently examined (not a full audit). Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

Property (HM Land Registry)

2 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (1 freehold); recorded price paid £131k. All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

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

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2024)

Total income

£1.8m

Total spending

£189k

Reserves (reported)

£93k

Employees

Reported reserves equal ~5.9 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 7.0 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Donations and legacies (100% 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 (2.9%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

Dr Thomas Riddall Smythchair · trustee of 1 other charity
Dr Anabel Redfearn
Dr Chris Tasker
Jennifer Chuen Dawes
Joanna Rachel Finlay
Julie Kathryn McGrane
KENNETH JOHN MATTHEWS
Rev Jonathan Justin Speaight Pryke

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

Operates in: Newcastle Upon Tyne City

Income and spending

Financial year end	Income	Spending
31/03/2025	£456k	£406k
31/03/2024	£1.8m	£189k

Common questions

Is THE ST JOSEPH'S BENWELL CHURCH TRUST financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity held unrestricted reserves of £1,648,266, which significantly exceed its stated policy target of £54,000 to £108,000. The charity reported a surplus of £49,216 for the year, with total income of £455,654 and total expenditure of £406,438. Its FY2025 accounts were independently examined.

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
CBRE UK CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£750

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with ST JOSEPH'S CHILD CARE GROUP.

ST JOSEPH'S CHILD CARE GROUP income £748k
CHRIST CHURCH NEWCASTLE income £528k
NEWCASTLE DIOCESAN SOCIETY income £473k
ST JOSEPH'S CONVENT SCHOOL income £302k
ST JOSEPH'S SCHOOL, LAUNCESTON income £3.0m
THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST JOHN'S, WELLING income £363k

Side by side with its peers

Charity	Income	Top pay band	Staff >£60k	Reserves vs policy	Fundraising cost	Going concern
THE ST JOSEPH'S BENWELL CHURCH TRUST	£456k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
ST JOSEPH'S CHILD CARE GROUP FY2025	£748k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
CHRIST CHURCH NEWCASTLE FY2025	£528k	Under £60,000	0	above	—	no doubt
NEWCASTLE DIOCESAN SOCIETY FY2025	£473k	—	0	above	—	no doubt
ST JOSEPH'S CONVENT SCHOOL FY2024	£302k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
ST JOSEPH'S SCHOOL, LAUNCESTON FY2025	£3.0m	—	—	unclear	—	no doubt

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