Charity Accounts Intelreading the accounts so you don’t have to

COLLECTIONS TRUST

Registered charity 273984 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as M D A (EUROPE), THE MUSEUM DOCUMENTATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED

The Collections Trust is the UK's independent organisation for cultural collections. We campaign for the public right to access and engage with collections.We do this by:-Promoting best practiceEncouraging InnovationRepresenting the interests of the sector

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

Latest income
£535k
Latest spending
£480k
Registered
1977
Accounts read
FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity finished the year with an overall surplus of £54,821 and total funds carried forward of £253,511. Per the trustees' report, free reserves of £233,049 fall within the stated policy target range of £120,000 to £240,000, representing approximately five to six months of operating costs. The trustees confirmed there are no material uncertainties regarding the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

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

What the accounts disclose

Largest income source: Arts Council England (72% of income)
“Of this, £386,202 (2024: £255,827) was restricted funding with £234,232 (2024: £234,232) received from the Arts Council England.” — page 9
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Buzzacott Audit LLP. Discloses 3 of 6 completeness components.

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

Total income
£535k
Total spending
£480k
Reserves (reported)
£254k
Employees
6

Reported reserves equal ~6.3 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 5.2 months; benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

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

Operates in: Scotland · Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/03/2025£535k£480k
31/03/2024£452k£378k
31/03/2023£372k£365k
31/03/2022£380k£363k
31/03/2021£360k£341k

Common questions

Is COLLECTIONS TRUST financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity finished the year with an overall surplus of £54,821 and total funds carried forward of £253,511. Per the trustees' report, free reserves of £233,049 fall within the stated policy target range of £120,000 to £240,000, representing approximately five to six months of operating costs. The trustees confirmed there are no material uncertainties regarding the charity's ability to continue as a going concern. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Buzzacott Audit LLP.

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.

FunderSimilar charities fundedAmount to them
THE COMPANY OF ARTS SCHOLARS CHARITABLE TRUST2£42k
KUSUMA TRUST UK1£1.0m
GARFIELD WESTON FOUNDATION1£1.0m
THE MASTER CHARITABLE TRUST1£500k
THE SANDERSON FOUNDATION1£400k
THE CADOGAN CHARITY1£200k
THE MICHAEL BISHOP FOUNDATION1£200k
THE PENNIES FOUNDATION1£182k

Charities like this

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

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
COLLECTIONS TRUST£535k——unclear—no doubt
THE ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST FY2025£85.3m£150,001 - £160,000—unclear—no doubt
CHARITIES TRUST FY2025£74.4m——above—no doubt
Cultura Trust FY2025£267k—0above—no doubt
MONEY ADVICE TRUST FY2024£21.7m£180,000 - £189,999—unclear—no doubt
THE ENGLISH HERITAGE TRUST FY2025£155.2m£240,001 - £250,000—unclear24.0%no doubt

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