DREAMS COME TRUE CHARITY

Registered charity 800248 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as DREAMS COME TRUE CHARITY LIMITED · also registered in Scotland as SC043878 (OSCR)

Dreams Come True is a national charity that brings joy to terminally and seriously ill children and young people by making their treasured dreams come true. Since it was founded in 1988 it has brought joy to more than 5,000 children across the UK. Dreams include meeting a favourite sports or pop star, swimming with dolphins, starring in a rock concert, equipment and holidays.

Objects

THE OBJECTS FOR WHICH THE COMPANY IS ESTABLISHED ARE TO PROMOTE AND FURTHER THE CARE, RELIEF, AND TREATMENT FOR CHILDREN 5-17 YEARS OF AGE ("SICK CHILDREN") IN PARTICULAR THOSE LIVING IN DEPRIVED COMMUNITIES WITHIN GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND, WHO HAVE SERIOUS ILLNESSES, LIFE-LIMITING CONDITIONS AND DISABILITIES.

Area of benefit: GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND

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

Causes: The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives · Disability · Recreation · Other Charitable Purposes · website · Get email alerts

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity ended the year with a net income of £48,848, recovering from a deficit in the previous year. Unrestricted reserves stood at £331,459, which the trustees confirm sits within their target range of 3-5 months of operating costs. The auditor confirmed that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.

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

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by Azets Audit Services Limited. Discloses 4 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
• Volunteer management

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Dreams Come True (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).

• Legal & General — “Thanks to the support of our partners, we have been able to transform lives through sensory gardens, adapted trikes, once-in-a-lifetime expe…” (source page)
• The Big Table Group — “Spotlight: Our partnership with The Big Table Group We are proud to be partnering with The Big Table Group , whose iconic brands, includin…” (source page)
• BSI Group — “BSI Group BSI funded a £20,000 Birmingham Hospital Dream, installing four interactive screens now used by around 8,000 children every year.” (source page)
• Howden Group — “Howden Group Host fundraising events throughout the year including quizzes, raffles and golf days, raising thousands to support our work.” (source page)
• Fuller’s — “Fuller’s Donate 50p from every child's meal sold across their country pub chain, contributing up to £40,000 annually.” (source page)
• CitNow Group — ““ Over the last year we have raised nearly £16,000 for Dreams Come True. This marks our highest-ever amount raised for a charity, and it’s a…” (source page)
• The Kentown Wizard Foundation — “When Ken Townsley set up The Kentown Wizard Foundation in 2017 he very generously selected four charities to support - Dreams Come True was …” (source page)
• Center Parcs — “Since 2019, we have been incredibly grateful for the generous support from Center Parcs, with 5 gifted stays per year. These stays have enab…” (source page)
• Valspar — “Our partnership with Valspar began in 2022, and they have continued to play a vital part in bedroom makeover dreams ever since.” (source page)
• TP Toys — “Dreams Come True are thrilled to receive GIK support from TP Toys, who generously provide play equipment and garden toys for the children wh…” (source page)

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

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

Reported reserves equal ~3.1 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 42.7% of total income — above the 90th percentile for charities its size (median 5.2%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

• Christina SandKuehlerchair
• Annabelle Vaughan
• Dr MarshaMaria Quallo-Wright
• Jayne Louise Franks
• Jonathan Richard Peppiatt
• Karen Diana Wilson
• Neil Smith
• Susan Martindale · trustee of 1 other charity

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.

Government & lottery funding

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

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 PROMISE DREAMS.

• PROMISE DREAMS income £237k
• THE DREAM FACTORY income £174k
• ACHIEVED DREAMS income £126k
• THE EVE MERTON DREAMS TRUST income £268k
• DREAM MAKERS income £129k
• MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION UK income £11.9m

Side by side with its peers

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