THE ROYAL AIR FORCE BENEVOLENT FUND
Registered charity 207327 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register
Restricted and endowed funds of Charity no 1081009
Causes: Education/training · The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives · Disability · The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty · Accommodation/housing · Other Charitable Purposes · website · Get email alerts
Financial health, per its FY2024 accounts
The accounts state that the charity reported a net expenditure of £0.6M for the year, a significant improvement from the £5.3M deficit in the previous year, driven by a 16% increase in total income to £21.6M. Per the trustees' report, free reserves held at year-end were £57.4M, which exceeds the trustees' determined minimum reserve requirement of £50M, providing a buffer against market volatility and future demand. The charity confirmed it has adequate resources to continue operating as a going concern for at least 12 months from the date of signing.
Automated summary of the FY2024 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.
What the accounts disclose
Largest income source: Legacies (49% of income)
“Legacies: £10.7M/50%” — page 14
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Fundraising cost ratio: 21.3% of fundraised income — top quarter for charities its size (median 5.2%)
“For every £1 we spent directly on fundraising we received £4.70 in the year (2023: £4.10).”
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Reserves policy: £50M (held: £57.4m)
“Trustees have determined that the minimum reserve requirement should be £50M for these reasons.”
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Donations from Trustees
“Donations to the value of £1,375 (2023: £826.25) were received from individual Trustees in the year.” — page 32
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Accounts audited by Crowe U.K. LLP. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.
Corporate structure
Funders the charity credits
Named as funders/supporters on the charity’s own website (the charity’s claim, distinct from accounts-verified grants).
- The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo — “With over £1.5 million provided to us in the last decade, we are deeply grateful for their substantial grants, which will be dedicated to en…” (source page)
- Wimbledon Foundation — “The RAF Benevolent Fund is delighted to announce that the Wimbledon Foundation has awarded a grant of £150,000 to support its Airplay youth …” (source page)
CQC provider record: The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund — Deregistered, 1 registered location, last inspected 24/01/2017.charity number confirmed by CQC CQC record
Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook · instagram
Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/12/2025)
Cost of raising funds
£11k
Reported reserves equal ~56.8 months of spending — in the top quarter for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).
Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).
Operates in: Throughout England And Wales
Income and spending
Common questions
Is THE ROYAL AIR FORCE BENEVOLENT FUND financially healthy?
Per its FY2024 accounts: The accounts state that the charity reported a net expenditure of £0.6M for the year, a significant improvement from the £5.3M deficit in the previous year, driven by a 16% increase in total income to £21.6M. Per the trustees' report, free reserves held at year-end were £57.4M, which exceeds the trustees' determined minimum reserve requirement of £50M, providing a buffer against market volatility and future demand. The charity confirmed it has adequate resources to continue operating as a going concern for at least 12 months from the date of signing. Its FY2024 accounts were audited by Crowe U.K. LLP.
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 THE ROYAL AIR FORCE BENEVOLENT FUND.
Side by side with its peers
Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.