Finance Score: -4

Governance Score: 9

Support Score: 6

Low unrestricted reserves: -2
Multiple Deficits: -2

Good trustee age range: +3
Dynamic board: +3
Gender balanced board: +3

Grant maker support: +6

Overall GiG Score: 11

FRESHWATER BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

A membership organisation that aims to promote freshwater science by supporting innovative research and providing training facilities as well as being a source of sound independent scientific opinion

Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

The charity has received backing from several prominent grant makers recently
The Board appears to be well diversified in terms of age and gender and dynamic in terms of composition

Regulatory & Governance issues to consider:

One or more trustees receive payments or benefits from the charity for providing services to the charity
Over half the Board have joined recently

Financial issues to consider:

Unrestricted reserves appear to be dangerously low at the latest year end
On several occasions in recent years income has been less than spending

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	*	£955	£907	£48	£135	£3,335	£127	1.7	10	0
31/03/22		£732	£839	£-106	£113	£3,310	£3,296	47.2	11	40
31/03/21		£631	£804	£-172	£291	£3,334	£3,319	49.6	12	0
31/03/20		£606	£925	£-319	£388	£3,405	£3,050	39.6	15	3
31/03/19		£846	£1,117	£-271	£362	£3,516	£3,165	34	16	3
31/03/18		£1,021	£1,454	£-432	£314	£3,803	£3,803	31.4	16	0
31/03/17		£1,094	£1,788	£-695	£482	£4,225	£4,225	28.4	33	0
31/03/16		£1,150	£1,459	£-309	£310	£4,721	£4,721	38.8	26	0
31/03/15		£691	£1,035	£-344	£146	£5,136	£5,136	59.5	19	0
31/03/14		£885	£1,045	£-161	£68	£5,165	£5,165	59.3	18	0
31/03/13		£906	£1,095	£-189	£63	£5,059	£5,059	55.4	18	0
31/03/12		£761	£1,074	£-313	£111	£4,880	£4,880	54.5	18	0
31/03/11		£749	£968	£-219	£122	£5,221	£5,221	64.7	18	0
31/03/10		£678	£960	£-282	£125	£5,234	£5,234	65.4	17	0
31/03/09		£565	£1,011	£-445	£130	£4,124	£4,124	49	18	0
31/03/08		£667	£973	£-306	£577	£5,774	£5,774	71.2	27	0
31/03/07		£955	£823	£132	£447	£6,650	£3,989	58.2	17	0
31/03/06		£617	£726	£-109	£0	£0	£0	n/a	0	0
31/03/05		£2,658	£935	£1,724	£0	£0	£0	n/a	0	0
31/03/04	*	£413	£546	£-133	£0	£0	£0	n/a	0	0

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Financial Ratios

Fundraising Costs/Relevant Income: 19.3%
Fundraising Costs/Total Spending: 14.9%
Senior Staff Costs/Total Spending: 11%
Highest pay band: £80,000-£90,000
Liabilities/Assets: 8%
Liabilities/Income: 32%
Unrestricted Funds/Total Funds: 4%
Reserves/Spending: 1.7 months
Net Current Assets/Spending: 4 months
Quick Ratio: 1.3

Asset Split ?

Established: 61 years
(92 years as a company)

www.fba.org.uk

info@fba.org.uk

01539442468

Charity Commission for England and Wales

Tweets

Listed activities

Arts/Culture/Heritage/Science
Education/Training
Environment/Conservation/Heritage

GiG Classification

Environment conservation & animal welfare advocacy

How it operates

Makes Grants to Individuals
Other charitable activities
Provides advocacy/advice/information
Provides buildings/facilities/open space
Provides human resources
Provides services
Sponsors or undertakes research

Where it operates

Throughout England And Wales,

Who it helps

Other Charities Or Voluntary Bodies
Other Defined Groups
The General Public/Mankind

Who works here?

10 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.

Specific Donations

Amount	When Months	To be used for
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Freshwater Biological Association
£29,000	27/02/2023	Towards core costs as a Cost of Living Uplift
Esmee Fairbairn - Grant to Freshwater Biological Association
£295,290	15/12/2022	Towards core costs developing and expanding the Riverfly Citizen Science Programme
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - Grant to Freshwater Biological Association
£15,000	01/02/2018	This grant will support knowledge exchange and communication activities carried out by the Freshwater Biological Association (FBA). FBA is a founding member of the European Federation of Freshwater ....more This grant will support knowledge exchange and communication activities carried out by the Freshwater Biological Association (FBA). FBA is a founding member of the European Federation of Freshwater Sciences (EFFS), a federation of similar organisations across fifteen European Countries with the aim of coordination and collaboration or research and evidence in the area of freshwater sicence. EFFS was founded to deliver an international forum for excellence in freshwater research across Europe to mirror the large North American meetings of American Society Limnologists and Oceanography (ASLO) and the-then North American Benthos Society, now Society for Freshwater Science. The current EFFS online presence is poorly maintained on a voluntary basis, and carries no wider scientific or policy information. It is a placeholder, rather than an active platform for both research and researchers. FBA seeks to add value to the network by developing a digital information hub that encourages researchers to contribute. FBA is developing a new cloud-based Membership, Website and Engagement Management System to support the operational collaboration activities with the EFFS comprising some 15,000 members. The system will; 1) facilitate communication with and between members of EFFS organisations; 2) highlight the expertise within EFFS to support science-based policy and management (for instance, by the formation of policy-groups of experts around specific issues); 3) promote this freshwater network as a gateway between, for instance, EU DG Environment and DG Research and Innovation plus any other European policy fora concerned with inland waters. This funding will be directed to support FBA to: i) Establish a connected community of European-wide freshwater scientists ii) Facilitate knowledge exchange between the scientific research community and policy makers iii) Nurture and encouraging younger scientists to pursue a professional career in freshwater science

Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

How is it governed?

Trustees (5)

Current Trustees appointed

Gender Split

Age Range of Trustees: 39-73

CHRISTOPHER SIMON DESSENT (Chair) Appointed: 2023, Occupation: Managing Director

DR MICHELLE JACKSON Appointed: 2021, Occupation: Associate Professor

PROFESSOR PAUL JAMES WOOD Appointed: 2023

PAMELA ANN NOLAN Appointed: 2023, Occupation: Environment Agency Manager, Other trusteeship: CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,

PROFESSOR KEITH JOHN BEVEN Appointed: 2018, Occupation: Emeritus Professor, Other trusteeship: JBA TRUST LIMITED,

Legal constitution

Charitable company registered in England & Wales on 21/05/1963, number: 214440
Registered at Companies House on 03/03/1932, number: 00263162

Gift Aid

Registered with HMRC for Gift Aid

Policies in force

Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
Complaints handling
Conflicting interests
Financial reserves policy and procedures
Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
Investing charity funds policy and procedures
Investment
Paying staff
Risk management
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; AR23: 43 days late, AR04: 41 days late,

Main office

The Freshwater Biological
Association
The Ferry Landing
Far Sawrey
AMBLESIDE
LA22 0LP

Objectives

A) TO PROMOTE THE UNDERSTANDING AND INVESTIGATION OF THE BIOLOGY (IN THE WIDEST INTERPRETATION OF THE WORD) OF THE ANIMALS AND PLANTS AND OTHER ORGANISMS FOUND IN FRESH (INCLUDING BRACKISH) WATERS. B) TO PROMOTE THE SOUND AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS AND RESOURCES.

Defined Area of Benefit:

NOT DEFINED

Data Sources