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

THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING

Registered charity 293074 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

We deliver public benefit from excellence in engineering and technology.Our vision: Engineering and technology in the service of societyOur role: We create and lead a community of outstanding experts and innovators to engineer better lives.Our goals: Enabling a sustainable and innovative economy, harnessing technology to improve lives, and building an engineering community fit for the future

Causes: Education/training · Economic/community Development/employment · Grant history (this charity is a funder) · website · Get email alerts

Latest income
£61.0m
Latest spending
£62.2m
Registered
1985
Accounts read
FY2026

Financial health, per its FY2026 accounts

The accounts state that the group held free reserves of £6.6 million, which falls within the stated recommended range of £4.6 million to £7.0 million. The filing confirms that resources are adequate to fulfill current obligations and that the going concern basis of accounting remains appropriate.

Automated summary of the FY2026 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Largest income source: Grants and contracts (66% of income)
“Group income for the year was £61.0 million (2024/25 £71.8 million). During the year, income from grants and other contracts totalled £52.0 million (2024/25 £62.6 million).”
Per its FY2026 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Fundraising cost ratio: 4.0% of fundraised income, as disclosed
“The cost of generating funds across the group was £2.4 million (2024/25 £2.2 million) 4% of total expenditure. The cost of generating funds consists of fees paid to investment managers, facilities hire and catering, and the staff costs and expenses associated with fundraising.”
Per its FY2026 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Reserves policy: £4.6 million to £7.0 million (held: £6.6m)
“The reserves policy states that the recommended range for Free Reserves is £4.6 million to £7.0 million. Whenever the Academy’s Free Reserves fall below the recommended range, the intention is to build the level of Free Reserves to be within the recommended range within five years.”
Per its FY2026 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by BDO LLP. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

In the news

Recent coverage mentioning this charity by name (automated match; headlines belong to their publishers).

UK research funding (UKRI Gateway to Research)

Property (HM Land Registry)

1 registered title in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (0 freehold); recorded price paid £7.0m. All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook (10,464 likes)

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2026)

Total income
£61.0m
Total spending
£62.2m
Cost of raising funds
£2.4m
Reserves (reported)
£6.6m
Employees
251

Reported reserves equal ~1.3 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (85% of income) — components as reported reconcile to the return’s total income; not from the accounts narrative.

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 4.0% of total income — above the median for charities its size (3.8%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

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

Operates in: Northern Ireland · Scotland

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/03/2026£61.0m£62.2m
31/03/2025£71.8m£67.8m
31/03/2024£208.2m£60.3m
31/03/2023£57.1m£57.6m
31/03/2022£48.3m£48.8m

Common questions

Is THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING financially healthy?

Per its FY2026 accounts: The accounts state that the group held free reserves of £6.6 million, which falls within the stated recommended range of £4.6 million to £7.0 million. The filing confirms that resources are adequate to fulfill current obligations and that the going concern basis of accounting remains appropriate. Its FY2026 accounts were audited by BDO LLP.

Who funds THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING?

Funders whose own accounts filings name THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING as a grant recipient include MISSION44, ROYAL COMMISSION FOR THE EXHIBITION OF 1851, ROSETREES, DEVELOPMENTS IN LITERACY UK (UK), THE DAVID FAMILY FOUNDATION.

Known funders

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

FunderYearAmountPurpose (as stated by the funder)
MISSION44FY2023£434kEmployment - STEM & Motorsport (Ignite transfer)
MISSION44FY2024£188kEmployment
MISSION44FY2025£188kEducation
ROYAL COMMISSION FOR THE EXHIBITION OF 1851FY2025£175kApprenticeship development awards
ROSETREESFY2024£94k
DEVELOPMENTS IN LITERACY UK (UK)FY2023£10kEngineering education and promotion
THE DAVID FAMILY FOUNDATIONFY2021£0

Government & lottery funding

Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).

FunderDateAmountPurpose
UK government31/03/2022£39.3mRoyal Academy of Engineering Core Funding
UK government31/03/2022£40.1mRoyal Academy of Engineering Core Funding
UK government03/02/2022£2.5mGlobal Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) grant for Royal Academy for Engineering
UK government03/02/2022£1.9mNewton Fund grant for Royal Academy for Engineering
UK government03/02/2022£5.4mGlobal Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) grant for Royal Academy for Engineering
UK government03/02/2022£3.0mGlobal Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) grant for Royal Academy for Engineering
UK government03/02/2022£395kNewton Fund grant for Royal Academy for Engineering
UK government01/04/2019£19.4mRoyal Academy of Engineering Support grant 19-20

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
KUSUMA TRUST UK1£195k
REES JEFFREYS ROAD FUND1£40k
THE ROSE FOUNDATION1£17k
A G MANLY CHARITABLE TRUST1£3k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with THE INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING£61.0m——unclear4.0%no doubt
THE INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY FY2024£64.1m——unclear—no doubt
THE ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY BOARD FY2025£10.0m£220,001 - £230,000—within—no doubt
THE INSTITUTION OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERS FY2025£10.6m——unclear—no doubt
ROYAL AERONAUTICAL SOCIETY FY2025£6.3m—0unclear—no doubt
ENGINUITY FY2025£15.1m——above—no doubt

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