Finance Score: -5
Governance Score: 3
Support Score: 8
  • Low unrestricted reserves: -2
  • Spending declining: -1
  • Multiple Deficits: -2
  • Dynamic board: +3
  • Grant maker support: +8
Overall GiG Score: 6 ?

DESIGN COUNCIL 

Design Council's purpose is to make life better by design.We are an independent charity and the government's advisor on design. Our vision is a world where the role and value of design is recognised as a fundamental creator of value, enabling happier, healthier and safer lives for all. Through the power of design, we make better places, better products, better processes and better performance.
Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

  • 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:

  • 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
  • Spending is declining
  • On several occasions in recent years income has been less than spending
Established: 48 years

www.designcouncil.org.uk

info@designcouncil.org.uk

02074205200

Charity Commission for England and WalesCompanies House
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£4,273£4,153£120£0£954£4961.4390
31/03/22£4,518£4,777£-259£0£834£5361.3380
31/03/21£3,609£3,594£15£0£1,092£8122.7380
31/03/20£3,879£5,558£-1,679£0£1,077£1,0242.2410
31/03/19£4,814£6,170£-1,356£0£2,756£1,6433.2460
31/03/18*£5,425£6,701£-1,276£0£4,112£1,6693470
31/03/17£9,671£6,076£3,595£0£5,389£1,3202.6480
31/03/16*£7,063£7,086£-23£0£1,802£1,1251.9590
31/03/15£7,928£7,480£448£83£1,845£1,1181.8610
31/03/14£6,312£6,625£-313£88£1,397£1,2562.3560
31/03/13*£8,855£8,649£206£65£1,710£1,6302.3590
31/03/12*£10,238£10,702£-464£221£1,504£1,4231.6650
31/03/11£9,214£8,705£509£108£1,968£1,5292.1670
31/03/10*£10,343£10,089£254£164£1,459£7560.9680
31/03/09£8,581£8,445£136£234£1,205£7781.1600
31/03/08£7,561£7,518£43£299£1,069£6921.1720
31/03/07*£7,806£8,322£-516£291£1,020£9901.4760
31/03/06*£8,955£9,026£-71£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/05£8,042£7,988£54£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/04£6,233£7,250£-1,017£0£0£0n/a00

Financial Ratios
Fundraising Costs/Relevant Income: 0%
Fundraising Costs/Total Spending: 0%
Senior Staff Costs/Total Spending: 17%
Highest pay band: £130,000-£140,000
Liabilities/Assets: 51%
Liabilities/Income: 23%
Unrestricted Funds/Total Funds: 52%
Reserves/Spending: 1.4 months
Net Current Assets/Spending: 2 months
Quick Ratio: 1.3
Asset Split ?
Listed activities
  • Accommodation/Housing
  • Armed Forces/Emergency Service Efficiency
  • Arts/Culture/Heritage/Science
  • Disability
  • Economic/Community Development/Employment
  • Education/Training
  • Environment/Conservation/Heritage
  • General Charitable Purposes
  • Other Charitable Purposes
  • Recreation
  • The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives
  • The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty
How it operates
  • Makes Grants to Individuals
  • Makes Grants to Organisations
  • Other charitable activities
  • Provides advocacy/advice/information
  • Provides buildings/facilities/open space
  • Provides human resources
  • Provides other finance
  • Provides services
  • Sponsors or undertakes research
Where it operates
  • Throughout England,
Who it helps
  • Children/Young People
  • Elderly/Old People
  • Other Defined Groups
  • People With Disabilities
  • The General Public/Mankind
Who works here?
  • 39 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
Guy's and St Thomas' Charity£777,010
National Lottery Community Fund£279,413
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy£8,672
Specific Donations
Amount When
Months
To be used for
National Lottery Community Fund - Design Differently
£279,413 06/10/2021
The Design Council aim to develop and create a ‘community design skills infrastructure’ across the UK. The purpose of the project is to embed a design mind and skill set with local authorities ....more
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy - Connected Communities for Healthy Ageing
£8,672 01/06/2020
Full Grant details (including summaries) can be found on the Gateway to Research website: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=44618
Guy's and St Thomas' Charity - JOLT EAP - Employee Health Innovation Fund
£765,000 19/03/2020
Employee Health Innovation Fund
Guy's and St Thomas' Charity - support for Mission Ventures
£12,010 31/12/2019
Grants plus support for Mission Ventures, Retail Challenge brands
Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government - BSP Technical Policy
£26,602 01/04/2018
MHCLG has established theÿBuilding Safety Programmeÿto cover high-rise residentialÿbuildingsÿover 18 metres, including hotels, to make sure that residents of high riseÿbuildingsÿareÿsaf
National Lottery Community Fund - Communities of Care
£3,651,508 21/04/2016
53
This programme will take a pioneering design-led approach to improving people’s experience of life as they age. It will bring together people in later life, social innovators and commissioners ....more
National Lottery Community Fund - Design Council - Grant to develop application
£50,000 15/06/2015
2
This funding will be used to test the development of a national programme, with regional networks designed to grow and replicate existing care innovations for older people. Each network will have a ....more
Show more rows

Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

How is it governed?

Trustees (9)
Current Trustees appointed

Legal constitution
  • Charity registered in England & Wales on 13/10/1976, number: 272099
  • Registered at Companies House on 01/01/1970, number: RO000848
Gift Aid
  • NOT registered with HMRC for Gift Aid
Policies in force
  • Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
  • Complaints handling
  • Complaints policy and procedures
  • Conflicting interests
  • Financial reserves policy and procedures
  • Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
  • Internal risk management policy and procedures
  • Paying staff
  • Risk management
  • Safeguarding policy and procedures
  • Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
  • Social media policy and procedures
  • Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
  • Trustee expenses policy and procedures
Filing Record
20 returns made; AR18: 1 days late, AR16: 1 days late, AR13: 1 days late, AR12: 2 days late, AR10: 2 days late, AR07: 141 days late, AR06: 403 days late,
Main office

The Design Council
c/o Sayer Vincent
Invicta House
108-114 Golden Lane
LONDON
EC1Y 0TL

Objectives

THE ADVANCEMENT OF BRITISH INDUSTRY BY THE IMPROVEMENT OF DESIGN IN THE PRODUCTS THEREOF.

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

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