THE BROTHERS OF THE FIRST ORDER OF THE SOCIETY OF ST FRANCIS

Registered charity 236464 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as FIRST ORDER BROTHERS OF THE SOCIETY OF SAINT FRANCIS, SOCIETY OF ST FRANCIS, SSF

An Anglican Religious Community for men under a Franciscan rule of life.

Objects

TO BUILD UP A BODY OF MEN WHO, ACCEPTING CHRIST AS THEIR LORD AND MASTER, WILL SEEK TO FOLLOW HIM IN THE WAY OF RENUNCIATION AND SACRIFICE AS AN ACT OF WITNESS AND FOR THE LOVING SERVICE OF HIS BRETHREN IN THE WORLD. TO MINISTER TO THE UNCARED-FOR, SICK AND SUFFERING AND THE NEEDY. TO SHOW OTHERS BY EXAMPLE AND INSTRUCTION, THE BEAUTY AND POWER OF CHRIST. TO RELIEVE THOSE WHO COME TO THEM FOR HELP OR COUNSEL.

Area of benefit: NATIONAL AND OVERSEAS

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 · Overseas Aid/famine Relief · Religious Activities · Environment/conservation/heritage · Human Rights/religious Or Racial Harmony/equality Or Diversity · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Dorset, South West, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity generated a net incoming resource of £284,724 for the year, with total income of £1,289,105 against total expenditure of £1,002,759. Per the trustees' report, the General Fund held £639,362 at year-end, which the trustees consider prudent against their policy target of 100% of annual expenditure (£658,567). The charity maintains a strong investment portfolio valued at £1,919,789 to sustain future income as pension receipts from brothers are projected to decline.

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

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by Greaves West & Ayre. 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
• Campaigns and political activity 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.

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

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 30/06/2025)

Reported reserves equal ~7.7 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 4.7 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 1.5% of total income — below the median for charities its size (5.3%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

• Br Alf Micael Carlstrom SSFchair
• Br Austin Keith Iverson Davis
• Br Benedict Winsper SSF
• Br Christopher John SSF
• Br Cristian Buliga SSF
• Br Hugh Cobbett
• Br James Mohun Yonge SSF
• Br James Race
• Br Malcolm Fountain SSF
• Br Martin Price SSF
• Br Nicholas Alan Worssam
• Br Richard Sydney Double SSF
• Br Robert Ames Chase

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

Operates in: Birmingham City · Dorset · Italy · Kent · Newham · Northern Ireland · Northumberland · Worcestershire

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).

Charities like this

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

• THE BROTHERS TRUST income £597k
• THE SOCIETY FOR THE RELIEF OF POOR CLERGYMEN income £28k
• THE CHURCH OF THE FIRSTBORN TRUST income £39k
• SOCIETY OF SAINT FRANCIS CENTRAL FUND income £155k
• STROUD CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP income £110k
• Brethren In Christ Church in the UK income £84k

Side by side with its peers

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