Finance Score: -3
Governance Score: 3
Support Score: 15
  • Low unrestricted reserves: -2
  • Strong growth: +2
  • Fundraising costs high: -3
  • Good trustee age range: +3
  • Grant maker support: +15
Overall GiG Score: 15 ?

BECOME CHARITY 

Established in 1992, Become is the leading national charity for children and young people in care and young care leavers.
Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

  • There has been strong growth in spending over the last 5 years
  • There have been no material income shortfalls in recent years
  • A significant proportion of recent income was derived from major grant makers and there are significant future grants due to be received
  • The Board appears to be well diversified in terms of age

Financial issues to consider:

  • Unrestricted reserves appear to be dangerously low at the latest year end
  • Fundraising costs are extremely high relative to funds raised
Established: 32 years

www.becomecharity.org.uk

mailbox@becomecharity.org.uk

02072513117

Charity Commission for England and WalesCompanies HouseFacebookInstagramX
UN SDGs
?

Financial Data ?

Income & Spending ?
Sources of Income ?
Y/E Income
£k
Spending
£k
Surplus/
Deficit
Fundraising
Cost £k
Total
Funds £k
Unrestricted
Funds £k
Mths
Rsrvs
Staff Volun-
teers
31/03/23£1,408£1,471£-64£466£792£3302.7220
31/03/22£1,488£1,336£152£364£867£5124.6180
31/03/21£1,161£913£248£269£693£5186.8120
31/03/20£638£671£-33£195£390£2614.780
31/03/19£563£675£-112£111£428£2995.31110
31/03/18£684£667£16£99£519£3225.8120
31/03/17£695£887£-193£105£504£3324.5140
31/03/16£902£899£2£94£671£4025.4160
31/03/15£762£782£-20£112£699£4246.5140
31/03/14£624£731£-107£83£700£4787.8130
31/03/13£519£645£-125£50£794£61711.5120
31/03/12£956£564£392£61£884£72015.3100
31/03/11£542£572£-30£116£502£3617.670
31/03/10£665£633£33£141£533£3626.970
31/03/09£618£617£1£93£500£2695.260
31/03/08*£606£639£-33£128£499£2604.960
31/03/07£2,198£1,485£713£243£532£2522110
31/03/06£1,214£2,089£-876£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/05*£1,182£2,106£-924£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/04£2,106£1,950£156£0£0£0n/a00

Financial Ratios
Fundraising Costs/Relevant Income: 33.9%
Fundraising Costs/Total Spending: 31.7%
Senior Staff Costs/Total Spending: 6%
Highest pay band: £70,000-£80,000
Liabilities/Assets: 11%
Liabilities/Income: 7%
Unrestricted Funds/Total Funds: 42%
Reserves/Spending: 2.7 months
Net Current Assets/Spending: 5 months
Quick Ratio: 6.2
Asset Split ?
Listed activities
  • Economic/Community Development/Employment
  • Education/Training
  • The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives
  • The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty
How it operates
  • Provides advocacy/advice/information
  • Provides services
  • Sponsors or undertakes research
Where it operates
  • Throughout England And Wales,
Who it helps
  • Children/Young People
Who works here?
  • 22 employees

Who's supporting them? ?

Donations from Grant Makers ?

We have details on the following significant donations. Multi-year donations are allocated to the years for which they are earmarked.

Major supporters in last 5 years
National Lottery Community Fund£753,610
The Clothworkers Foundation£530,000
Esmee Fairbairn£459,000
Department for Education£138,602
Dulverton Trust£105,000
Paul Hamlyn Foundation£80,000
Garfield Weston Foundation£60,000
Mark Leonard Trust£50,000
Specific Donations
Amount When
Months
To be used for
Mark Leonard Trust - Core funding
£50,000 16/11/2023
Core funding
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Become
£225,000 09/11/2023
Towards unrestricted core costs to support an end to the care cliff and influence positive changes to the care system
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Become
£6,500 30/01/2023
Towards unrestricted core costs as a Cost of Living Uplift
Dulverton Trust - Become core funding
£70,000 08/06/2022
Become core funding
Garfield Weston Foundation - Multi-Year Grant (2 Years) award
£30,000 26/11/2021
Supporting care-experienced young people through the coronavirus crisis and beyond.
National Lottery Community Fund - Care Advice Service
£578,931 22/03/2021
46
The project will use its funding over 4 years to support the development and delivery of the organisation’s Care Advice Services. These services provide information advocacy and support to children ....more
Garfield Weston Foundation - Multi-Year Grant (2 Years) award
£30,000 06/11/2020
Supporting care-experienced young people through the coronavirus crisis and beyond.
Paul Hamlyn Foundation - Influencing positive changes to the care system
£60,000 14/09/2020
Become provides support and advice to care-experienced children and young people across England, to help them realise their potential and understand their rights. Funding will support the Director of ....more
Lloyds Bank Foundation - Variation grant to Become
£6,000 23/07/2020
Grant to Become meeting the additional costs of adapting services, premises or implementing other safety measures in response to the Covid pandemic.
Department for Education - Support for Care Leavers
£50,000 11/06/2020
Organisations who support people who experience loneliness and social isolation
City Bridge Trust - Grant to Become
£26,471 02/06/2020
£26,471 towards costs as outlined in your application, but restricted to those costs that will directly benefit Londoners.
National Lottery Community Fund - Care Advice Service Covid-19
£174,679 07/05/2020
12
The funding will be used to cover costs of their Advice Service for children in care and care leavers to grow their digital offer and to meet increased demand. This consists of advice helpline ....more
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Become
£32,500 05/05/2020
6
towards unrestricted core costs as a COVID-19 Fast Response grant
Paul Hamlyn Foundation - COVID19 Emergency Funding
£20,000 09/04/2020
3
Support to aid the organisation in dealing with the challenges posed by COVID19.
Department for Education - DCMS Covid-19 funding
£88,602 01/04/2020
To provide support due to the COVID-19 pandemic to three care leaver's charities (Become, the Care Leavers Association and the Drive Forward Foundation - £150k budgeted for that), to Grandparents ....more
BBC Children in Need - Grant to Become Charity
£28,579 20/03/2020
36
This project will provide support workshops for looked after children and young people. The workshops will help them to build positive relationships, improve their emotional well-being and increase ....more
CHK Foundation - CHK Main Grant
£40,000 17/03/2020
to support work with young people leaving care
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Become
£195,000 26/02/2020
36
Towards unrestricted core costs to change the care system for the better.
The Clothworkers Foundation - Grant to Become
£500,000 03/12/2019
to develop and implement a pilot Personal Advisor training project in two England Local Authorities over a five year period from 2020.
Lloyds Bank Foundation - Grant to Become
£15,000 20/11/2019
12
Become is requesting support towards researching, purchasing and adopting a new impact database. This will help it to embed an impact culture throughout its work, improve its services and impact ....more
Dulverton Trust - Core costs
£35,000 23/10/2019
Core costs
The Clothworkers Foundation - Grant to Become
£30,000 27/06/2019
to develop a theory of change/scoping exercise for the Personal Advisor training programme.
Co-Op Foundation - Co-design offer
£10,000 20/12/2018
Co-designing the P*ssport to Parliament project with care experienced young people.
DCMS - Building Connections Fund - Codesign
£10,000 20/12/2018
Co-designing the Passport to Parliament project with care experienced young people.
Garfield Weston Foundation - Main Grants award
£30,000 26/11/2018
Core Costs
Co-Op Foundation - Become - Youth Programme 2018
£70,000 06/09/2018
Offering a coaching programme to young care leavers in London and the South East, helping them to navigate through the challenging transition to independence.
Mark Leonard Trust - MLT Portfolio
£250,000 05/09/2018
For participation in the Trustees' Portfolio of Venture grants.
Paul Hamlyn Foundation - Developing a coaching programme for care leavers; securing financial sustainability
£60,000 11/12/2017
24
Become provides support and advice to care-experienced children and young people across England, to help them realise their potential and understand their rights. Through the grant, a new coaching ....more
The Rayne Foundation - Grant to Become Charity
£40,000 28/09/2017
24
Towards delivering a coaching and support programme for young care leavers.
Co-Op Foundation - Become Coaching Programme
£20,000 19/07/2017
Offering a coaching programme to young care leavers in London, helping them to navigate through the challenging transition to independence.
Garfield Weston Foundation - Main Grants award
£30,000 03/05/2017
Care Advice Line
Tudor Trust - Grant to Who Cares? Trust
£75,000 14/10/2015
36
over three years as continuation funding towards development work to increase the user voice and participation of the most marginalised young people in care and care leavers in national policy and ....more
Comic Relief - Passport to Parliament for children in care
£99,320 15/07/2015
36
There are about 68,840 children under the age of 18 in care in England, most of whom face barriers and challenges in their lives, experiencing higher rates of unemployment and fewer educational ....more
The Blagrave Trust - Young Editors
£90,000 08/03/2015
Unrestricted grant designated year 1 to supporting the ?Young Editors? team and publication costs
Dulverton Trust - Core costs 2015-17
£75,000 04/02/2015
Core costs 2015-17
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Become
£74,839 27/08/2014
Towards the digitisation of the Higher Education Handbook enabling care leavers to find out what services are available to them at college and university.
Lloyds Bank Foundation - Grant to Who Cares? Trust
£49,300 29/03/2011
the costs of the Listen Up! Project including salaries, on costs, training, mentoring, activities, support and overheads
Show more rows

Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

How is it governed?

Trustees (10)
Current Trustees appointed

Age Range of Trustees: 24-75
  • ELIOT LYNE Appointed: 2017, Occupation: Chartered Accountant
  • ONY CHIMA Appointed: 2020, Occupation: Digital Transformation Leader
  • PHILLIPA UDEN Appointed: 2020, Occupation: Marketing And Communications Officer
  • TOM WILLETTS Appointed: 2020, Occupation: Head Of Media Relations
Legal constitution
  • Charitable company registered in England & Wales on 22/04/1992, number: 1010518
  • Registered at Companies House on 26/03/1992, number: 02700693
Gift Aid
  • Registered with HMRC for Gift Aid
Policies in force
  • Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
  • Campaigns and political activity policy and procedures
  • Complaints handling
  • Complaints policy and procedures
  • Conflicting interests
  • Engaging external speakers at charity events policy and procedures
  • 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
Filing Record
20 returns made; AR08: 19 days late, AR05: 15 days late,
Recent reorganisation events:
  • Asset transfer in from ISABEL'S VOICE on 30/06/2023
Main office

Suite 151
264 Lavender Hill
Clapham Junction
London
SW11 1LJ

Objectives

TO PROMOTE THE CARE, UPBRINGING AND ESTABLISHMENT IN LIFE OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE OR HAVE BEEN LOOKED AFTER OR ASSISTED BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES OR OTHER PUBLIC OR CHARITABLE BODIES CHARGED WITH THE CARE & UPBRINGING OF CHILDREN OR WHO ARE OR HAVE BEEN IN THE CARE OF FOSTER OR ADOPTIVE PARENTS.

Defined Area of Benefit:

NOT DEFINED

Data Sources

Charity Commission for England and Wales
360 Giving
CharityBase
Authorised officials of this charity can add information to this page (including a Donate Now button) for no cost

Tips for Selecting Charities

Which areas of philanthropy are most effective?
The text of this post is taken from an article on the Effective Altruism forum. It suggests that you can achieve the most impact by supporting causes that fight extreme poverty, improving animal welfare....more
Our Top Tips for Philanthropy
Here are some ideas to help you gain more satisfaction from your philanthropy and confidence that the causes you have selected are impactful. Engage your brain, as well as your heart You....more
How to become a Philanthropist
In this Blog we outline a strategy to help people who are new to philanthropy and for those who feel dissatisfied with the impact they are having. Effective philanthropy is immensely rewarding for donors,....more

Giving is Great