The Portal Trust

Registered charity 312425 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · Wikidata: Q110628432 · also known as SIR JOHN CASS'S FOUNDATION, Sir John Cass's Foundation (working name)

Grants for education to financially disadvantaged young people under 25 years resident in London. Provision of scholarships and bursaries to individuals, and grants to education projects and activities run by schools and organisations.

Objects

THE ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF THE SCHOOLS OF THE TRUST KNOWN AS THE ALDGATE SCHOOL AND STEPNEY ALL SAINTS CHURCH OF ENGLAND SECONDARY SCHOOL. ASSISTANCE TO VOLUNTARY CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOLS AND THE LONDON METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY TO APPLY RESIDUE OF THE NET YEARLY INCOME OF THE TRUST IN ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING WAYS:- (A) IN AWARDING TO BENEFICIARIES EXHIBITIONS, SCHOLARSHIPS, BURSARIES OR MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCES TENABLE AT ANY SCHOOL, COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY, OR OTHER PLACE OF LEARNING APPROVED BY THE GOVERNORS; (B) IN PROVIDING FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO ANY CHURCH OF ENGLAND VOLUNTARY ORGANISATION IN THE INNER LONDON EDUCATION AREA HAVING CHARITABLE OBJECTS DIRECTED TO EDUCATING OR IMPROVING THE CONDITION OF LIFE OF BENEFICIARIES BY DEVELOPING THEIR PHYSICAL, MENTAL OR MORAL CAPACITIES THROUGH LEISURE-TIME ACTIVITIES. (C) IN AWARDING SCHOLARSHIPS OR MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCE TO ENABLE BENEFICIARIES TO TRAVEL ABROAD TO PURSUE THEIR EDUCATION. (D) IN OTHERWISE PROMOTING THE EDUCATION OF BENEFICIARIES.

Area of benefit: LONDON BOROUGHS:- CITY OF LDN, ROYAL LDN BOR. OF K'TON AND CHELSEA, LDN BORS.OF CAMDEN,G'WICH,HACKNEY,H'SMITH AND FULHAM, IS'TON,LAMBETH,LEWISHAM,NEWHAM,S'WARK,T-HLETS

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

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

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity holds total unrestricted funds of £16.7m, significantly exceeding its stated policy target of £600,000 in operating reserves. The trustees report 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

Accounts audited by Sayer Vincent LLP. Discloses 3 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 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

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)

3 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.

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): instagram · linkedin

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

Reported reserves equal ~10.3 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 4.7 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Investments (98% 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: 9.5% of total income — above the median for charities its size (5.3%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

• SOPHIE ANNE FERNANDESchair
• Anton Chambers
• DAVID HOGBEN
• DENISE JONES · trustee of 3 other charities
• HIS HONOUR BRIAN BARKER CBE KC · trustee of 1 other charity
• JENNIFER MARY MOSELEY
• Rev Laura Jane Jorgensen · trustee of 5 other charities
• Rev TREVOR FRANCIS CRITCHLOW · trustee of 7 other charities
• Sarwar Zaman
• Zoe Howe

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

Operates in: Throughout London

Income and spending

Common questions

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 QUALITY STUDIES.

• QUALITY STUDIES income £303k
• THE SHELDON TRUST income £235k
• SIGNIFICANCE income £53k
• MAKING A DIFFERENCE income £30k
• OPEN DOOR, YOUNG PEOPLE'S CONSULTATION SERVICE income £1.6m
• PHILOLOGICAL FOUNDATION income £59k

Side by side with its peers

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