FRESHWATER BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

Registered charity 214440 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · Wikidata: Q5503114 · Wikipedia · also known as F B A, THE FRESHWATER BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

A membership organisation that aims to promote freshwater science by supporting innovative research and providing training facilities as well as being a source of sound independent scientific opinion

Objects

A) TO PROMOTE THE UNDERSTANDING AND INVESTIGATION OF THE BIOLOGY (IN THE WIDEST INTERPRETATION OF THE WORD) OF THE ANIMALS AND PLANTS AND OTHER ORGANISMS FOUND IN FRESH (INCLUDING BRACKISH) WATERS. B) TO PROMOTE THE SOUND AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS AND RESOURCES.

Area of benefit: NOT DEFINED

The charity’s charitable objects and area of benefit, quoted from its governing document as held on the Charity Commission register.

Causes: Education/training · Arts/culture/heritage/science · Environment/conservation/heritage · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Westmorland and Furness, North West, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity achieved an operating surplus of £112,764, though an unrealised investment loss resulted in an overall deficit of £59,751 for the year. The charity holds significant investment assets valued at £2,796,114, which are designated to generate income for core costs, while unrestricted reserves stood at £310,531. The trustees consider these reserves sufficient to meet short to medium-term obligations and report no material uncertainties regarding going concern.

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

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by Dodd & Co Audit Limited. Discloses 3 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
• Conflicting interests
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Investing charity funds policy and procedures
• Investment
• Paying staff
• Risk management
• 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 31/03/2023 (received 14/03/2024, 43 days after the 31/01/2024 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.

Corporate structure

• Registered company of the charity Companies House 00263162

Funders the charity credits

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

• Environment Agency — “the initiative, with support from the Environment Agency, has seen remarkable growth in both participation and impact” (source page)
• EU LIFE Programme — “due to significant funding support from the EU LIFE Programme and Natural England's Species Recovery Programme we aim to release around 4000…” (source page)
• Natural England — “due to significant funding support from the EU LIFE Programme and Natural England's Species Recovery Programme we aim to release around 4000…” (source page)

Company officers (Companies House)

Current officers of the charity’s own company per the Companies House register, cross-checked against the Charity Commission trustee list by name. A director not on the trustee list is usually a timing or naming difference between the two registers — check both records before drawing conclusions.

• GRIFFITHS, Tracey Dawn — director, appointed 26/11/2025on trustee list
• DODD, Jennifer Ann, Doctor — director, appointed 26/11/2025on trustee list
• BODEN, Timothy — director, appointed 26/11/2025on trustee list
• SORBY, Gavin Bryn — director, appointed 11/10/2024on trustee list
• WOOD, Paul James, Professor — director, appointed 20/10/2022on trustee list
• NOLAN, Pamela Ann — director, appointed 20/10/2022on trustee list
• DESSENT, Chris Simon — director, appointed 20/10/2022on trustee list

Official officers record.

Property (HM Land Registry)

1 registered title in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (1 freehold). All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

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

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

Reported reserves equal ~4.1 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 4.7 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 10.6% of total income — above the median for charities its size (5.3%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

• Christopher Simon Dessentchair
• Dr Jennifer Ann Dodd
• Gavin Bryn Sorby
• Pamela Ann Nolan
• Professor Paul James Wood
• Timothy Boden
• Tracey Dawn Griffiths

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

Operates in: Throughout England And Wales

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 FRESHWATER HABITATS TRUST.

• FRESHWATER HABITATS TRUST income £3.0m
• THE FRESHWATER FOUNDATION income £27k
• FRESHWATER LIFEBOAT income £125k
• FAIRY WATER TRUST income £239k
• INTERNATIONAL WATER ASSOCIATION income £11.1m
• THE AMATEUR ENTOMOLOGISTS' SOCIETY income £95k

Side by side with its peers

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