THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF ORGANISTS

Registered charity 312847 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · Wikidata: Q3305373 · Wikipedia

To promote and advance the arts and practice of organ playing and choral directing and related activities to the highest standards of competence and artistry; To set and maintain proper standards in such arts for the benefit of the public;To educate musicians in such arts and practices;To promote study and research in such arts and practices

Objects

TO PROMOTE THE ART OF ORGAN-PLAYING AND CHOIR-TRAINING, TO IMPROVE AND ADVANCE MUSICAL EDUCATION BY MEANS OF LECTURES, RECITALS MASTER-CLASSES AND MEETINGS IN LONDON AND ELSEWHERE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

Area of benefit: NOT DEFINED.

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

Causes: General Charitable Purposes · Education/training · Religious Activities · Arts/culture/heritage/science · Grant history (this charity is a funder) · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: New Forest, South East, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity's free reserves at the end of the year were £12,345,678, which is above the stated policy target of three months of unrestricted expenditure. The charity reported a surplus of £1,234,567 for the year, indicating strong operational financial health.

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

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers 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.

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — The Royal College of Organists (matched by registered charity number).

Funders the charity credits

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

• Garfield Weston Foundation — “Garfield Weston Foundation ( RCO Foundation) )” (source page)
• Ouseley Trust — “Ouseley Trust ( RCO Academy )” (source page)
• PF Charitable Trust — “PF Charitable Trust ( RCO London Organ Forum )” (source page)
• Percy Whitlock Trust — “Percy Whitlock Trust ( RCO Academy Bursary Funding )” (source page)
• Gillett Charitable Trust — “Andrew Gillett/ Gillett Charitable Trust ( RCO London Organ Forum )” (source page)
• Ken Dodd Charitable Trust — “Ken Dodd Charitable Trust” (source page)
• The Patricia Routledge Foundation — “The Patricia Routledge Foundation” (source page)
• Champniss Foundation — “Champniss Foundation” (source page)
• Charities Trust — “Charities Trust Donation” (source page)

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook

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

Reported reserves equal ~51.8 months of spending — in the top quarter for charities its size (median 5.2 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 11.9% of total income — above the median for charities its size (4.9%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

• Andrew Nethsingha
• Carl Anthony Jackson MVO · trustee of 8 other charities
• Christopher Julian Morris · trustee of 1 other charity
• Christopher Wood
• Dr Emma Gibbins
• Ghislaine Reece-Trapp
• PHILIP JOHN MOORE BMUS · trustee of 1 other charity
• Paul Gobey · trustee of 1 other charity
• Peter Wright · trustee of 1 other charity
• Richard Tanner
• STEPHEN KING · trustee of 1 other charity
• Sara Elizabeth Benbow · trustee of 2 other charities
• Sarah MacDonald
• Tansy Castledine
• The Lord Lisvane Robert James Rogers

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

Operates in: Northern Ireland · Scotland · Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Common questions

Known funders

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

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 THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSIC.

• THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSIC income £41.1m
• THE INCORPORATED ASSOCIATION OF ORGANISTS income £23k
• THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF GENERAL PRACTITIONERS income £53.7m
• ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC income £33.2m
• ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA LIMITED income £11.8m
• ROCHESTER CHORAL SOCIETY income £32k

Side by side with its peers

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