Overall GiG Score: 16 ?
Finance Score: -2
Governance Score: 5
Support Score: 13
  • Large legacies income: +1
  • Spending falling: -1
  • Multiple Deficits: -2
  • Good trustee age range: +3
  • Dynamic board: +3
  • Mainly male board: -1
  • Grant maker support: +13

THE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR BLIND CHILDREN 

THE OBJECTS OF THE CHARITY ARE TO PROVIDE EDUCATION, ADVICE, GUIDANCE AND TRAINING TO CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR PARTIALLY SIGHTED AND TO PROVIDE SUCH SERVICES AS CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR PARTIALLY SIGHTED MAY REQUIRE TO LEAD INDEPENDENT LIVES WITHIN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES OR OTHERWISE MEET THEIR NEEDS.
Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

  • This charity has received considerable income from legacies in recent years
  • A significant proportion of recent income was derived from major grant makers including the Government
  • The Board appears to be well diversified in terms of age and dynamic in terms of composition

Regulatory & Governance issues to consider:

  • The Board is predominantly male
  • Over half the Board have joined recently

Financial issues to consider:

  • Spending has fallen significantly over the last 5 years relative to the previous period
  • On several occasions in recent years income has been less than spending
Established: 61 years
(109 years as a company)

www.rsbc.org.uk

julie.davis@rsbc.org.uk

02031980225

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
31/12/22£4,513£3,413£1,100£786£4,292£4,14314.654120
31/12/21£5,006£3,870£1,136£761£3,181£2,7638.657148
31/12/20£4,355£3,689£666£832£1,980£1,5575.169150
31/12/19£4,145£4,830£-685£1,498£2,148£1,7264.383250
31/12/18£4,306£5,383£-1,077£1,600£2,148£1,7263.890130
31/12/17£5,066£5,873£-807£1,984£2,701£2,2814.7890
31/12/16£5,152£5,451£-299£1,475£3,423£2,6165.8960
31/12/15£4,609£4,562£47£1,264£3,549£2,6757680
31/12/14£5,411£6,072£-661£1,805£3,411£3,1286.21110
31/12/13£8,507£6,364£2,143£1,434£4,005£3,7647.11110
31/12/12£5,532£7,421£-1,889£1,375£5,939£5,7519.31360
31/12/11?£9,421£12,075£-2,654£1,798£7,871£7,6797.61750
31/07/10£8,571£8,684£-113£1,035£10,807£10,54314.62020
31/07/09£8,808£8,528£280£858£10,583£10,38314.61950
31/07/08£11,455£10,439£1,016£890£10,910£10,36011.92420
31/07/07£9,895£9,683£212£837£10,062£9,74012.12740
31/07/06£11,256£9,885£1,371£0£0£0n/a00
31/07/05£10,844£9,631£1,213£0£0£0n/a00
31/07/04£9,838£9,614£224£0£0£0n/a00

Financial Ratios
Fundraising Costs/Relevant Income: 17.4%
Fundraising Costs/Total Spending: 23%
Senior Staff Costs/Total Spending: 11%
Highest pay band: £90,000-£100,000
Liabilities/Assets: 23%
Liabilities/Income: 28%
Unrestricted Funds/Total Funds: 97%
Reserves/Spending: 14.6 months
Net Current Assets/Spending: 12 months
Quick Ratio: 1.9
Asset Split ?
What it does
  • Disability
  • Economic/Community Development/Employment
  • Education/Training
Who works here?
  • 54 employees
  • 120 volunteers
Who it helps
  • Children/Young People
  • People With Disabilities
How it operates
  • Provides advocacy/advice/information
  • Provides services
Where it operates
  • Throughout England And Wales,

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
DCMS£268,991
City Bridge Trust£209,576
BBC Children in Need£122,567
Paul Hamlyn Foundation£93,000
Vision Foundation£77,450
The Clothworkers Foundation£65,000
Specific Donations
Amount When
Months
To be used for
Vision Foundation - Building Connections With Young People - Designed with experience.
£30,000 13/12/2023
At RSBC, we want every blind and partially sighted child, young person and their family to have the skills and confidence to live their life without limits. The project will reduce loneliness and ....more
Paul Hamlyn Foundation - Enhancing access to vital services through strategic partnership development
£3,000 18/01/2023
The Royal Society for Blind Children (RSBC) supports children and young people who are blind or partially sighted to have the best possible start in life. This grant supports the growth of RSBC’s ....more
City Bridge Trust - Grant to Royal Society for Blind Children
£161,860 16/11/2022
24
£161,860 over two years (£78,940; £82,920) towards a programme to deliver innovative emotional and practical support services that empower blind children and young people and their families in ....more
Hackney Council - Grant to Royal Society for Blind Children (RSBC)
£12,000 13/10/2022
Providing social welfare advice
Quartet Community Foundation - Grant to Royal Society for Blind Children
£250 25/03/2022
Grant to Royal Society for Blind Children
The Clothworkers Foundation - Grant to The Royal Society For Blind Children
£65,000 29/09/2021
Refurbishment - Building for a charity supporting visually impaired children and young people.
Paul Hamlyn Foundation - Enhancing access to vital services through strategic partnership development
£90,000 19/07/2021
The Royal Society for Blind Children (RSBC) supports children and young people who are blind or partially sighted to have the best possible start in life. This grant supports the growth of RSBC’s ....more
Vision Foundation - 1-2-1 employment support for young people aged 16-25 and engagement with employers through workshops and advice services.
£47,450 10/03/2021
Support for blind and partially sighted young people living in London (aged 16-25) to access employment by providing bespoke, 1-2-1 employment support to young people and working with employers to ....more
BBC Children in Need - Grant to The Royal Society for Blind Children
£99,772 18/12/2020
This project will deliver a range of activities, counselling and residentials to blind and partially sighted children and young people. The activities will result in less isolation, improved ....more
BBC Children in Need - Grant to The Royal Society for Blind Children
£22,795 30/11/2020
This project will provide a range of services to visually impaired children and young people and their siblings, to help reduce feelings of isolation, to improve self-confidence and to increase ....more
DCMS - Coronavirus Community Support Fund
£163,051 06/08/2020
"The fund aims to:1) To reduce closures of essential charities that provide essential services to vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 crisis by ensuring they have the financial resources to ....more
Comic Relief - Royal Society for Blind Children (RSBC) Recovery Funding
£37,939 23/06/2020
6
COVID19 Recovery funding
City Bridge Trust - Grant to Royal Society for Blind Children
£47,716 22/05/2020
A grant of £47,716 to fund the essential and urgent costs outlined in the appliciation, so that the organisation can carry on providing support to Londoners.
DCMS - Building Connections Fund - Youth strand
£39,071 01/04/2019
Supper clubs for visually impaired young people across London will develop networks and build confidence and skills through talks and workshops.
DCMS - Youth Investment Fund
£33,434 01/04/2019
.
DCMS - Youth Investment Fund
£33,434 01/04/2019
Grant award to fulfil the aims of the Office for Civil Society's Youth Investment Fund to expand, create and strengthen the sustainability of open-access youth services.
Greater London Authority - Young Londoners Fund
£96,465 02/01/2019
Inclusive Vision will support 180 visually impaired children and young people living in West and South London at risk of social exclusion to improve their emotional and mental health, develop the ....more
DCMS - Building Connections Fund - Youth strand
£39,071 01/01/2019
Supper clubs for visually impaired young people across London will develop networks and build confidence and skills through talks and workshops.
National Lottery Community Fund - Helping Families First
£745,038 17/12/2018
23
This project supports support families to promote the best possible outcomes for blind children and young people. Using a methodology designed to foster sustainability from the start it seeks to ....more
Co-Op Foundation - Royal Society for Blind Children - Building Connections Youth Strand Project
£78,142 06/12/2018
Supper clubs for visually impaired young people across London, developing their networks and building confidence and skills through talks and workshops.
Greater London Authority - Sport for Inclusion
£64,253 06/11/2018
We will use sport to address the exclusion & disadvantage faced by visually impaired (VI) young people (YP), piloting a model that will reduce isolation, increase community engagement by ....more
Greater London Authority - Sport for Inclusion
£64,253 06/11/2018
We will use sport to address the exclusion & disadvantage faced by visually impaired (VI) young people (YP), piloting a model that will reduce isolation, increase community engagement by ....more
National Lottery Community Fund - Live life, go further
£485,010 01/10/2018
35
The project will support children and young people to improve their emotional and mental health as well as develop their practical skills to lead independent and fulfilling lives. This will be ....more
Comic Relief - Sport for Inclusion
£64,253 25/09/2018
24
The Royal Society for Blind Children will work with Essex Boys and Girls Clubs and their partner youth organisations to develop their capacity to include visually impaired young (VI) people in their ....more
The Ballinger Charitable Trust - Grant to Royal Society for Blind Children (RSBC)
£10,000 21/09/2018
12
Family support service
Garfield Weston Foundation - Main Grants award
£25,000 18/06/2018
Live Life, Go Further
Masonic Trust - MCF Large Grant
£30,000 23/05/2018
A grant to fund a Family Engagement Worker to provide support for families with a blind child.
City Bridge Trust - Grant to The Royal Society for Blind Children
£113,960 23/11/2017
36
£113,960 over three years (£32,192; £39,124; £42,644) towards the costs of delivering an apprenticeship programme with partner employers for 40 blind and partially sighted young people (16-25).
DCMS - Youth Investment Fund
£33,434 28/04/2017
[Placeholder]
DCMS - Youth Investment Fund
£33,434 28/04/2017
Grant award to fulfil the aims of the Office for Civil Society's Youth Investment Fund to expand, create and strengthen the sustainability of open-access youth services.
DCMS - Youth Investment Fund
£33,434 28/04/2017
The Youth Investment Fund aims to expand, create and strengthen the sustainability of open-access youth services in six disadvantaged regions in the country. It will also expand the evidence base of ....more
BBC Children in Need - Grant to The Royal Society for Blind Children
£36,439 11/10/2016
36
This project will provide a range of activities to blind and partially sighted young people to support them to participate in regular physical activity, to improve their knowledge of nutrition and ....more
Comic Relief - Tech for Good - WAYFINDR
£35,371 15/07/2015
6
Wayfindr is a downloadable phone App to enable vision impaired people to get to destinations independently. This tool is the first of its kind, providing reliable timely audio directions to navigate ....more
National Lottery Community Fund - Visionary Placement
£190,998 24/03/2015
35
Not Available
National Lottery Community Fund - Vision Independence
£380,560 16/12/2014
36
Not Available
Sport England - Sports without Limits
£278,775 02/02/2013
Funding under Sport England's Inclusive Sport funding programme for a Revenue project titled 'Sports without Limits'. This project is a Multi Sports project, with a focus on beneficiaries with a ....more
Show more rows

Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

How is it governed?

Trustees (12)
Current Trustees appointed
Gender Split
Based on 11/12 persons

Age Range of Trustees: 32-79
  • CALLUM RUSSELL Appointed: 2022, Occupation: Disability Advice Service Founder
  • THOMAS KELMAN Appointed: 2024, Occupation: Certified Chartered Accountant
Legal constitution
  • Charitable company registered in England & Wales on 25/04/1963, number: 307892
  • Registered at Companies House on 12/04/1915, number: 00139928
Gift Aid
  • Registered with HMRC for Gift Aid
Other Regulators
  • Ofsted (Office For Standards In Education)
Policies in force
  • Complaints handling
  • Conflicting interests
  • Investment
  • Paying staff
  • Risk management
  • Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
  • Volunteer management
Filing Record
19 returns made; all on time
Recent reorganisation events:
  • Asset transfer in from OGWR DISTRICT TALKING NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION on 29/03/2022
Main office

LIFE WITHOUT LIMITS CENTRE
10 LOWER THAMES STREET
LONDON
EC3R 6EN

Objectives

1.1 ADVANCING THE EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND OTHER PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR PARTIALLY SIGHTED;1.2 PROVIDING SUCH ASSISTANCE AS CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND OTHER PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR PARTIALLY SIGHTED MAY REQUIRE TO LEAD INDEPENDENT LIVES TO OBTAIN EMPLOYMENT OR OTHERWISE TO MEET THEIR NEEDS;1.3 PROVIDING FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES, ADVICE AND INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES OF CHILDREN WHO ARE BLIND OR PARTIALLY SIGHTED FOR THE BENEFIT OF SUCH CHILDREN;1.4 PROVIDING SUCH SERVICES, FACILITIES AND ACTIVITIES FOR THE BENEFIT OF BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND OTHER PEOPLE AS THE SOCIETY SHALL FROM TIME TO TIME DEEM FIT.

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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