Finance Score: -1

Governance Score: 1

Support Score: 6

Excess reserves: -2
Multiple Deficits: -2
Fundraising costs low: +3

No volunteer policy: -2
Dynamic board: +3

Grant maker support: +6

Overall GiG Score: 6

THE MARINE BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

To disseminate knowledge, of the seas and marine life, including the use of marine and other organisms for basic biosciences for the benefit of the public (where biosciences means marine biology in its widest sense).

Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

Spending has increased over the last 3 years relative to the previous period
Fundraising costs are unusually low relative to funds raised
A significant proportion of recent income was derived from major grant makers including the Government
The Board appears to be dynamic in terms of composition

Regulatory & Governance issues to consider:

Although this charity works with volunteers it does not have a Volunteer Management policy

Financial issues to consider:

This charity has substantial assets and unrestricted reserves of £16,422,421 available, equivalent to 29 months of spending and so may not be able to utilise additional funding
On several occasions in recent years income has been less than spending

Established: 10 years
(54 years as a company)

www.mba.ac.uk

info@mba.ac.uk

01752 426493

Charity Commission for England and Wales

Tweets

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		£8,932	£6,844	£2,088	£32	£22,668	£16,422	28.8	98	29
31/03/22		£5,085	£6,016	£-931	£29	£21,219	£16,403	32.7	96	26
31/03/21		£5,198	£5,630	£-431	£17	£21,131	£16,081	34.3	87	8
31/03/20		£7,390	£6,014	£1,377	£92	£19,714	£14,354	28.6	81	60
31/03/19		£8,333	£5,928	£2,405	£135	£18,910	£15,244	30.9	72	50
31/03/18		£3,961	£4,021	£-61	£125	£15,946	£14,579	43.5	50	0
31/03/17		£3,332	£3,951	£-619	£129	£16,149	£15,064	45.8	56	0
31/03/16		£3,207	£3,854	£-646	£201	£14,504	£13,419	41.8	56	0
31/03/15	*	£19,389	£4,310	£15,079	£355	£16,150	£15,123	42.1	62	0

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Financial Ratios

Fundraising Costs/Relevant Income: 0.4%
Fundraising Costs/Total Spending: 0.5%
Senior Staff Costs/Total Spending: 9%
Highest pay band: £110,000-£120,000
Liabilities/Assets: 11%
Liabilities/Income: 31%
Unrestricted Funds/Total Funds: 72%
Reserves/Spending: 28.8 months
Net Current Assets/Spending: 2 months
Quick Ratio: 0.7

Asset Split ?

Listed activities

Arts/Culture/Heritage/Science
Education/Training
Environment/Conservation/Heritage
General Charitable Purposes

How it operates

Provides advocacy/advice/information
Sponsors or undertakes research

Where it operates

Devon, Plymouth City,

Who it helps

The General Public/Mankind

Who works here?

98 employees
29 volunteers

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.

Specific Donations

Amount	When Months	To be used for
Garfield Weston Foundation - Major Grants award
£400,000	23/09/2022	Building Refurbishment - Phase 1
Wolfson Foundation - Grant to Marine Biological Association
£1,350,000	11/06/2020	Marine Microbiome Centre of Excellence
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy - MICRO-INTERACT - Laser capture micro-dissection for identification of novel interactions within the plankton that underpin marine carbon cycling
£293,130	01/04/2019	Full Grant details (including summaries) can be found on the Gateway to Research website: https://gtr.ukri.org/projectsref=NE/T009195/1
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy - Assessing how cell size constrains carbon uptake in diatoms using direct measurements of cell surface carbonate chemistry
£556,443	01/04/2019	Full Grant details (including summaries) can be found on the Gateway to Research website: https://gtr.ukri.org/projectsref=NE/T000848/1
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy - Exploring new placed based technological opportunities for community science with the Marine Biological Association and Time and Tide Bell
£19,788	01/04/2019	Full Grant details (including summaries) can be found on the Gateway to Research website: https://gtr.ukri.org/projectsref=BB/T019328/1
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy - Light sheet microscopy for live cell imaging of photosensitive systems
£423,316	01/04/2019	Full Grant details (including summaries) can be found on the Gateway to Research website: https://gtr.ukri.org/projectsref=BB/S019758/1
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy - ALB - UKRI - Understanding the links between pelagic microbial ecosystems and organic matter cycling in the changing Arctic (Micro-ARC)
£223,602	01/04/2018	Full Grant details (including summaries) can be found on the Gateway to Research website: https://gtr.ukri.org/projectsref=NE/R012644/1
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy - ALB - UKRI - Diatom Sensory Mechanisms: Drivers of Global Marine Productivity
£449,739	01/04/2018	Full Grant details (including summaries) can be found on the Gateway to Research website: https://gtr.ukri.org/projectsref=NE/R015449/1
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy - ALB - UKRI - Tracking Marine sources of a Cholera outbreak using high throughput molecular methods on archival samples
£42,396	01/04/2018	Full Grant details (including summaries) can be found on the Gateway to Research website: https://gtr.ukri.org/projectsref=NE/S013431/1
National Lottery Heritage Fund - Grant to Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
£23,100	14/03/2018	Beach Rangers - reconnecting local communities with the sea
National Lottery Heritage Fund - Grant to Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
£10,000	06/12/2017	Life on the Yealm: Recording the natural heritage of the Yealm Estuary
Co-Operative Group - Grant to Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
£3,583	29/11/2017	Help us run organised summer activities aimed at local families to engage with and learn about their local marine environment.
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy - BLUEPRINT - New designs for engaging the public in the future of our seas
£84,187	16/10/2017	Full Grant details (including summaries) can be found on the Gateway to Research website: http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/projects?ref=NE/R01180X/1

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Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

How is it governed?

Trustees (12)

Current Trustees appointed

Age Range of Trustees:

DR GILLIAN RIDER (Chair) Appointed: 2019, Occupation: Dircetor

DR JENNIFER SARAH ASHWORTH Appointed: 2018, Occupation: Doctor - Marine Management

HEATHER KOLDEWEY Appointed: 2020

MARK DICKEY-COLLAS Appointed: 2022

PROFESSOR CAROL ROBINSON Appointed: 2022

PROFESSOR JUDITH PETTS Appointed: 2022

PROFESSOR MARK BAILEY Appointed: 2021, Other trusteeship: THE SIR ALISTER HARDY FOUNDATION FOR OCEAN SCIENCE,

PROFESSOR PAUL HART Appointed: 2022

PROFESSOR ROSALIND RICKABY Appointed: 2020

PROFESSOR STUART ROGERS Appointed: 2018, Occupation: Professor - Marine Evidence

ROBERT JOHN MILLS Appointed: 2018, Occupation: Retired, Other trusteeships: THE EXETER DIOCESAN BOARD OF FINANCE, THE SIR ALISTER HARDY FOUNDATION FOR OCEAN SCIENCE,

RICHARD COOMBS Appointed: 2022

Legal constitution

Charity registered in England & Wales on 21/02/2014, number: 1155893
Registered at Companies House on 01/01/1970, number: RC000865

Gift Aid

Registered with HMRC for Gift Aid

Event History

19/01/2016 - Asset transfer in from EDWARD THOMAS BROWNE
19/01/2016 - Asset transfer in from THE TODD FUND
19/01/2016 - Asset transfer in from THE MARINE BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

Policies in force

Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
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

Filing Record

9 returns made; AR15: 3 days late,

Main office

The Marine Biological Association o
The Laboratory
Citadel Hill
PLYMOUTH
PL1 2PB

Objectives

THE OBJECTS FOR WHICH THE COMPANY IS HEREBY CONSTITUTED ARE TO PROMOTE THE INVESTIGATION, AND TO DISSEMINATE KNOWLEDGE, OF THE SEAS AND MARINE LIFE, INCLUDING THE USE OF MARINE AND OTHER ORGANISMS FOR BASIC BIOSCIENCES FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC (WHERE BIOSCIENCES MEANS MARINE BIOLOGY IN ITS WIDEST SENSE).

Data Sources