THE ROYAL LITERARY FUND

Registered charity 219952 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as RLF

Helps published authors or performed playwrights of several works who are in financial difficulties through grants and pensions. Also runs various activities for the "advancement of public education".

Objects

(A) THE RELIEF OF POOR AND DISTRESSED AUTHORS OF PUBLISHED WORKS OF APPROVED LITERARY MERIT INCLUDING IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO PERIODICAL LITERATURE AND OF THE FAMILIES OF SUCH DECEASED AUTHORS WHO ARE THEMSELVES IN DISTRESS AND IN NEED OF RELIEF. (B) THE ADVANCEMENT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION AND THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE PUBLIC TASTE IN THE FIELD OF LITERARY WORK.

Area of benefit: NATIONAL

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

Causes: Education/training · The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: City of London, London, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity holds unrestricted reserves of £191.6 million, which the trustees consider adequate to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The charity reported a net expenditure of £2.5 million for the year, primarily due to a significant loss on investment assets, although it maintains a large investment portfolio valued at £192.9 million to support long-term charitable objectives.

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

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by Saffery LLP. Discloses 4 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 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
• Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
• Social media policy and procedures
• Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
• Trustee expenses policy and procedures

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.

Property (HM Land Registry)

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

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

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 28.1% of total income — in the top quarter for charities its size (median 5.3%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

• Sir Ian Craig Blatchfordchair
• Andrew McMillan
• Brenda Gardner
• COLIN LUKE
• Colin Peter Ludlow
• Dan Franklin · trustee of 1 other charity
• Dorothy Sheila Irving
• Dreda Say Mitchell MBE
• Fiona Sampson MBE
• George Graham
• Janelle Davy
• Judith Murray
• Kerry Glencorse · trustee of 1 other charity
• MICHAEL SYMMONS ROBERTS
• Marianne Velmans
• Mark Gardiner
• Mark Lawson · trustee of 1 other charity
• Paula Hawkins
• Rosalynn Try-Hane
• Sammia Hamer
• Susheila Nasta · trustee of 1 other charity
• Terence Blacker · trustee of 1 other charity

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

Operates in: Northern Ireland · Scotland · Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Common questions

Known funders

Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.

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 SOCIETY OF LITERATURE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM.

• THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATURE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM income £217k
• THE ROYAL THEATRICAL FUND income £679k
• THE READING FOUNDATION income £517k
• THE ROYAL THEATRICAL SUPPORT TRUST income £82k
• THE AUTHOR'S FOUNDATION income £233k
• LEEDS PHILOSOPHICAL AND LITERARY SOCIETY LIMITED income £27k

Side by side with its peers

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