Our 2026 Annual Report was published today.
Highlights
- Highest ever number of grant applications;
- Record income levels; and
- Strong investment performance.
On the back of introducing the online grant application in May 2025, we made over 1,600 grants, 25% more than last year, with grant expenditure hitting an all-time high for the third year running of £317,000. We also saw an increase in donation income, largely from the livery companies and the 200 Club, topping £200,000 for the first time.
Over the last three years, income from donations has increased by just over 10%, but over the same period grant expenditure has nearly doubled – meaning that the gap between regular income and grant expenditure has grown significantly, exceeding £100,000 this year and likely to be even higher next year. This means we have become increasingly dependent on fundraising income to be able to continue to fund all eligible applications. This year, again, we benefitted from some fantastic fundraising efforts by the Sheriffs, the Recorder and from other sources, which you can read more about in our Annual Report. In total, nearly £200,000 was raised from these events, resulting in total income just short of £1/2 million – the highest ever, higher even than in our bicentenary year. This enabled us to also fund 4 rehabilitation projects.
Thank you to everyone for your generous support to enable this.