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

THE VIRGIN FOUNDATION

Registered charity 297540 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as THE HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION, THE VIRGIN HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION, VIRGIN UNITE

Virgin Unite was established by Richard Branson and staff across the Virgin Group to deliver entrepreneurial approaches to social and environmental issues. Virgin Unite works with all the Virgin companies around the world in partnership with social entrepreneurs to build sustainable solutions to some of thoughest challenges facing the world today.

Causes: General Charitable Purposes · Education/training · The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives · The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty · Overseas Aid/famine Relief · Environment/conservation/heritage · Grant history (this charity is a funder) · website · Get email alerts

Latest income
£21.5m
Latest spending
£18.1m
Registered
1987
Accounts read
FY2024

Financial health, per its FY2024 accounts

The accounts state that consolidated unrestricted reserves increased to £11,263,000, with free reserves standing at £5.9 million, which the Trustees judge sufficient to cover six months of total expenditure. The charity reported a net income of £3,404,000 for the year, driven by voluntary income from the Virgin Group and other donors, while grants disbursed totaled £9,190,000.

Automated summary of the FY2024 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Highest-paid employee band: £140,001 - £150,000 — above the median for charities its size (£130k)
“Between £140,001 and £150,000” — page 66
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Largest income source: Virgin Group donations (40% of income)
“In the year £7,292k (40%) of the Group’s income was derived from Virgin Group donations”
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Reserves policy: six month’s total expenditure excluding direct discretionary expenditure relating to charitable activities and costs of generating funds (held: £11.3m)
“In the period to 31 December 2024 the Trustees’ policy is that unrestricted funds less the net book value of fixed assets held by the charity that are not committed or designated (“the free reserves”) should be sufficient to cover at least six month’s total expenditure excluding direct discretionary expenditure relating to charitable activities and costs of generating funds.” — page 51
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Virgin Management Limited provided staff, office space, and professional services valued at £3,983,000.
“The value placed on this contribution by the Virgin Group is based upon similar services provided to their Group companies and is valued at £3,983,000 (2023: £4,085,000). Donations in kind are recognised within incoming resources as a donation, and an equivalent charge is included as support costs and re-allocated to the appropriate cost category.” — page 63
“Voluntary income primarily comprises Sir Richard Branson’s speaking fee donations from the Virgin Group of £7,292,000 (2023: £8,777,000), and other voluntary income of £6,887,000 (2023: £6,493,000).”
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Virgin Group general donations of £7,292,000.
“The value placed on this contribution by the Virgin Group is based upon similar services provided to their Group companies and is valued at £3,983,000 (2023: £4,085,000). Donations in kind are recognised within incoming resources as a donation, and an equivalent charge is included as support costs and re-allocated to the appropriate cost category.” — page 63
“Voluntary income primarily comprises Sir Richard Branson’s speaking fee donations from the Virgin Group of £7,292,000 (2023: £8,777,000), and other voluntary income of £6,887,000 (2023: £6,493,000).”
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Virgin Management Limited paid senior management remuneration of £680,000.
“The value placed on this contribution by the Virgin Group is based upon similar services provided to their Group companies and is valued at £3,983,000 (2023: £4,085,000). Donations in kind are recognised within incoming resources as a donation, and an equivalent charge is included as support costs and re-allocated to the appropriate cost category.” — page 63
“Voluntary income primarily comprises Sir Richard Branson’s speaking fee donations from the Virgin Group of £7,292,000 (2023: £8,777,000), and other voluntary income of £6,887,000 (2023: £6,493,000).”
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Virgin Management USA Inc. paid £1,116,000.
“The value placed on this contribution by the Virgin Group is based upon similar services provided to their Group companies and is valued at £3,983,000 (2023: £4,085,000). Donations in kind are recognised within incoming resources as a donation, and an equivalent charge is included as support costs and re-allocated to the appropriate cost category.” — page 63
“Voluntary income primarily comprises Sir Richard Branson’s speaking fee donations from the Virgin Group of £7,292,000 (2023: £8,777,000), and other voluntary income of £6,887,000 (2023: £6,493,000).”
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by KPMG LLP. Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

Corporate structure

VIRGIN UNITE TRADING LIMITED — per its own Companies House accounts
  • Turnover: £2.1m
  • Profit before tax: £38k
  • Donated/gift-aided to the charity: £84k
  • The Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Virgin Foundation (also known as Virgin Unite).
“The Company paid a distribution under gift aid to its parent entity of £83,795 in 2024 (2023: £92,943).”

Funders the charity credits

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

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.

Official officers record.

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/12/2024)

Total income
£21.5m
Total spending
£18.1m
Cost of raising funds
£2.9m
Reserves (reported)
£16.7m
Employees
7

Reported reserves equal ~11.1 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Donations and legacies (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: 13.4% 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: Australia · Canada · Jamaica · South Africa · Throughout England · United States

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/12/2024£21.5m£18.1m
31/12/2023£22.0m£15.8m
31/12/2022£10.2m£12.2m
31/12/2021£11.9m£12.5m
31/12/2020£7.8m£14.1m

Common questions

Is THE VIRGIN FOUNDATION financially healthy?

Per its FY2024 accounts: The accounts state that consolidated unrestricted reserves increased to £11,263,000, with free reserves standing at £5.9 million, which the Trustees judge sufficient to cover six months of total expenditure. The charity reported a net income of £3,404,000 for the year, driven by voluntary income from the Virgin Group and other donors, while grants disbursed totaled £9,190,000. Its FY2024 accounts were audited by KPMG LLP.

What does the highest-paid employee of THE VIRGIN FOUNDATION earn?

Per its FY2024 accounts, the highest-paid employee was in the £140,001 - £150,000 band.

Who funds THE VIRGIN FOUNDATION?

Funders whose own accounts filings name THE VIRGIN FOUNDATION as a grant recipient include BIG CHANGE CHARITABLE TRUST.

Known funders

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

FunderYearAmountPurpose (as stated by the funder)
BIG CHANGE CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2023£10k
BIG CHANGE CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2024£10k

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
QUADRATURE CLIMATE FOUNDATION1£1.9m
MICHAEL CARRICK FOUNDATION1£157k
POWER TO CHANGE TRUST1£129k
THE ASTRA FOUNDATION1£120k
THE BLAGRAVE TRUST1£104k
The Portal Trust1£61k
BACK ON THE MAP LIMITED1£53k
THE CRUCIBLE FOUNDATION1£50k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with THE VIRGIN MONEY FOUNDATION.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
THE VIRGIN FOUNDATION£21.5m£140,001 - £150,000—unclear—no doubt
THE VIRGIN MONEY FOUNDATION FY2025£3.3m——above—no doubt
VINCI UK FOUNDATION FY2025£277k—0unclear—no doubt
THE FOUNDATION FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS FY2025£6.4m£139,818—within—no doubt
THE UNITE FOUNDATION FY2025£2.3m—0below0.0%no doubt
MANCHESTER UNITED FOUNDATION FY2025£8.7m——above—no doubt

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