THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON FOR IMPROVING NATURAL KNOWLEDGE (COMMONLY KNOWN AS THE ROYAL SOCIETY)

Charity number: 207043
Charity reporting is up to date (on time)

Charity overview

Activities - how the charity spends its money

The Royal Society has three roles: A learned society; The UK's Academy of Science; And as a funding agency. We - Promote science and its benefits - Recognise excellence in science - Support outstanding science - Provide scientific advice for policy - Foster international and global cooperation - Provide education and public engagement

Income and expenditure

Data for financial year ending 31 March 2024

Total income:
£396,290,000

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Donations and legacies £3.06m
Charitable activities £381.32m
Other trading activities £65.00k
Investments £11.84m
Other £10.00k

Total expenditure:
£145,955,000

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Raising funds £2.68m
Charitable activities £143.28m
Other £0

£25,216,000 investments gains (losses)

Total income includes £112,718,000 from 5 government grant(s)

Charitable expenditure

Charitable expenditure

Some charities generate all, or a substantial part, of their income from investments which may have been donated to the charity as endowment or set aside by the charity from its own resources in the past. Such investments usually take the form of stocks and shares but may include other assets, such as property, that are capable of generating income and/or capital growth.

In managing their spending and investments charities need to strike a balance between the needs of future and current beneficiaries. They also need to take account of spending commitments that may stretch over a number of future years. To do this, charities will normally adopt an investment strategy designed to generate both income and capital growth. To maximise returns trustees may commit to investment strategies for several years.

Investments can experience large swings in value so trustees may, in a particular year, decide to realise and spend part of their charity’s capital or to invest part of its income.

By clicking the investment gains checkbox the charitable spending bar is adjusted to take account of capital growth as well as income. This shows the balance the charity is striking, between spending on current beneficiaries and retaining resources for future beneficiaries.

Text alternative for this canvas graphic is in the data table below.
Raising funds and other expenditure £2.68m
Charitable expenditure £143.28m
Retained for future use £250.34m

People

266 Employee(s)

22 Trustee(s)

Employees with total benefits over £60,000

Number of employees
£60k to £70k 14
£70k to £80k 11
£80k to £90k 4
£90k to £100k 2
£100k to £110k 1
£110k to £120k 1
£120k to £130k 3
£130k to £140k 2
£150k to £200k 3
£400k to £450k 1

Fundraising

No information available

Trading

One or more trustees are also directors of the subsidiaries

Trustee payments

No trustees receive any remuneration, payments or benefits from the charity.

What, who, how, where

Main way of carrying out purposes is grant making
What the charity does:
  • Education/training
  • Other Charitable Purposes
Who the charity helps:
  • Children/young People
  • Elderly/old People
  • People With Disabilities
  • Other Charities Or Voluntary Bodies
  • Other Defined Groups
  • The General Public/mankind
How the charity helps:
  • Makes Grants To Individuals
  • Makes Grants To Organisations
  • Provides Other Finance
  • Provides Buildings/facilities/open Space
  • Provides Services
  • Provides Advocacy/advice/information
  • Sponsors Or Undertakes Research
  • Acts As An Umbrella Or Resource Body
Where the charity operates:
  • Northern Ireland
  • Scotland

Governance

Registration history:
  • 22 January 1963: Standard registration
  • 16 July 2009: Removed (Amalgamated)
Organisation type:
Other
Other names:
  • THE ROYAL SOCIETY (Working name)
Company number:
RC000519 Open in new window
Gift aid:
Recognised by HMRC for gift aid
Other regulators:
No information available
Policies:
  • Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
  • Complaints handling
  • 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
  • Volunteer management
Land and property:
This charity owns and/or leases land or property

Trustees

Trustees are the people responsible for controlling the work, management and administration of the charity on behalf of its beneficiaries. Generally trustees are treasurer, chair, board member etc. The trustees are responsible for keeping this list up to date and can do this by updating their details as they happen through the online service

22 Trustee(s)

Name Role Date of appointment Other trusteeships Reporting status of other trusteeships
Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell FRS Trustee 01 December 2024
None on record
Professor Krishnaswamy Vijayraghavan FRS Trustee 01 December 2024
None on record
Professor Robin Allshire FRS Trustee 01 December 2024
None on record
Professor Ian Walmsley FRS Trustee 01 December 2024
None on record
Professor Eric William Wolff FRS Trustee 01 December 2024
None on record
Professor Marta Kwiatkowska FRS Trustee 12 January 2024
None on record
Professor Sheila Rowan CBE FRS Trustee 01 December 2023
None on record
Professor Tim Palmer CBE FRS Trustee 01 December 2023
None on record
Professor Carlos Frenk CBE FRS Trustee 01 December 2023
None on record
Professor Gideon Davies FRS Trustee 01 December 2023
None on record
Professor Sarah Darby FRS Trustee 01 December 2023
GREEN TEMPLETON COLLEGE
Received: On time
Professor Stephen West CBE Trustee 01 December 2023
None on record
Anne Ridley Trustee 01 December 2023
THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF HOLY TRINITY AND SAINT STEPHEN'S, BRISTOL
Received: On time
Professor Jonathan Keating FRS Trustee 11 April 2023
None on record
Professor Doreen Ann Cantrell FRS Trustee 01 December 2022
CANCER RESEARCH UK
Received: On time
Professor Annette Catherine Dolphin FRS Trustee 01 December 2022
THE PHYSIOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Received: On time
Professor Stephen Barnett FRS FRSE Trustee 01 December 2022
None on record
Sir Mark Walport Trustee 01 December 2022
None on record
Professor Julia Alison Noble OBE FRS Trustee 01 December 2022
None on record
Professor Yvonne Jones FRS Trustee 01 December 2022
None on record
Sir David Charles Baulcombe FRS Trustee 01 December 2021
None on record
Professor Sir Adrian Smith FRS Trustee 01 December 2020
None on record

Financial history

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Financial period end date

Income / Expenditure 31/03/2020 31/03/2021 31/03/2022 31/03/2023 31/03/2024
Total gross income £129.78m £136.17m £124.58m £139.79m £396.29m
Total expenditure £133.70m £138.42m £127.65m £141.69m £145.96m
Income from government contracts N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Income from government grants £101.89m £113.02m £103.06m £112.53m £112.72m
Income - Donations and legacies £805.00k £1.86m £543.00k £1.35m £3.06m
Income - Other trading activities £1.98m £110.00k £137.00k £65.00k £65.00k
Income - Charitable activities £120.07m £127.08m £116.69m £129.62m £381.32m
Income - Endowments £0 £0 £0 £0 £0
Income - Investment £6.85m £4.86m £7.20m £8.74m £11.84m
Income - Other £76.00k £2.27m £15.00k £14.00k £10.00k
Income - Legacies £26.00k £486.00k £38.00k £614.00k £2.65m
Expenditure - Charitable activities £129.29m £136.33m £124.09m £138.61m £143.28m
Expenditure - Raising funds £4.41m £2.10m £3.56m £3.08m £2.68m
Expenditure - Governance £363.00k £664.00k £261.00k £533.00k £2.47m
Expenditure - Grants institution £3.90m £3.62m £3.75m £4.08m £3.45m
Expenditure - Investment management £1.16m £1.03m £2.69m £2.13m £2.16m
Expenditure - Other £0 £0 £0 £0 £0

Assets and liabilities

Definitions for assets and liabilities
Own use assets

These are assets, other than investments, which are held for more than 12 months and used to run and administer the charity such as buildings, offices, exhibits and fixtures and fittings.

Long term Investments

Investments are assets held by the charity with the sole aim of generating income which will be used for their charitable purposes such as deposit accounts, shares, rental property and unit trusts.
Investment assets are re-valued every year and included in the balance sheet at their current market value.
Long term investments are held for more than 12 months.

Other assets

These are assets held generally for less than 12 months such as cash and bank balances, debtors, investments to be sold within the coming year and trading stock.

Defined benefit pension scheme asset or liability

This is a surplus or deficit in any defined benefit pension scheme operated and represents a potential long-term asset or liability.

Total liabilities

These are all the amounts owed by the charity at the balance sheet date to third parties such as bills due but not yet paid, bank overdrafts and loans and mortgages.

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Asset / Liability 31/03/2020 31/03/2021 31/03/2022 31/03/2023 31/03/2024
Own use assets £63.55m £59.12m £58.88m £58.86m £58.51m
Long-term investments £234.08m £297.31m £308.31m £283.37m £558.07m
Other assets £8.22m £9.38m £14.72m £20.37m £14.78m
Defined benefit pension scheme asset or liability -£10.72m -£12.22m -£4.30m -£524.00k £340.00k
Total liabilities £17.88m £19.00m £21.40m £27.52m £22.22m

Accounts and annual returns

This table shows the charity's record of submitting annual returns, accounts and trustees' annual report (TAR) for the last five financial periods.
Title Reporting year Date received Received Download
Annual return 31 March 2024 22 October 2024 On Time
Accounts and TAR 31 March 2024 22 October 2024 On Time Download Open in new window
Annual return 31 March 2023 24 November 2023 On Time
Accounts and TAR 31 March 2023 24 November 2023 On Time Download Open in new window
Annual return 31 March 2022 14 December 2022 On Time
Accounts and TAR 31 March 2022 14 December 2022 On Time Download Open in new window
Annual return 31 March 2021 20 January 2022 On Time
Accounts and TAR 31 March 2021 30 March 2022 58 days late Download Open in new window
Annual return 31 March 2020 18 December 2020 On Time
Accounts and TAR 31 March 2020 18 December 2020 On Time Download Open in new window
Submit annual return Open in new window

Governing document

Details of the type of governing document the charity has and when it was established.
It is not the full text of the charity's governing document.

ROYAL CHARTERS DATED 1662, 1663 AND 1669

Charitable objects

FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF NATURAL KNOWLEDGE

Area of benefit

The area the charity can operate in, as set out in its governing document.

NOT DEFINED

Linked charities

Linked charities
Linked charity 207043-71 ALBERT RECKITT RESEARCH FUND
Governing document
FOUNDED IN 1948
Charitable objects
THE PROMOTION OF LEARNING AND EDUCATION IN THE FIELD OF SCIENCE
Area of benefit
NOT DEFINED
Registration history
  • 22 January 1963 : Standard registration
  • 16 July 2009 : Removed

Contact information

Address:
6-9 CARLTON HOUSE TERRACE
LONDON
SW1Y 5AG
Phone:
+44 207 451 2500
Email:
info@royalsociety.org
Website:

www.royalsociety.org Open in new window