Andrew Parkinson/2020VISION
How we are funded
How we raise funds for our work
The Wildlife Trusts are made up of 47 independent charities working together to deliver our shared vision of a thriving natural world, with wildlife and natural habitats playing a valued role in addressing the climate and ecological emergencies, and people inspired and empowered to take action for nature’s recovery.
The majority of our funding comes from generous Wildlife Trust members, corporate partners, major donors and grant-giving Trusts and Foundations. We are grateful to every one of you for supporting your Wildlife Trust. Thank you.
Where we spend our money
98% of our funds are spent by individual Wildlife Trusts in their local area with the remainder invested in collective activity at an all Wales, England or UK level. By supporting your local Wildlife Trust you really are helping to support the wildlife and wild places in your area. On this page you will find information about the collective finances of The Wildlife Trusts.
Collective income and expenditure
The charts below show the collective income and expenditure for all Wildlife Trusts and the central charity, Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT).
Note that RSWT operates a Grants Unit which distributes around £7m a year from grant givers, such as Biffa, to other charities outside The Wildlife Trusts to deliver work that falls within our charitable remit.
Our collective finances: accessible, written explanation
2024 data from 38 Wildlife Trusts. RSWT figures are for national work completed on behalf of The Wildlife Trusts' federation.
RSWT income is £13m (excluding a BIFFA grant of £5.1m and inter-Trust grants of £12.5m). RSWT expenditure is £10m. There is a small unrestricted fund surplus of £0.7m, with the balance of £2.3m in restricted funds for future years. The combined total income for all 46 Wildlife Trusts is £230.4m, with an expenditure of £216.7m. The federation surplus is £13.7m, of which £14.5m is in restricted funds to be carried forward to fund projects in the next financial year, with a loss of £1m in unrestricted funds—an improvement on previous years.
Thank you
Every single one of The Wildlife Trust’s supporters are at the heart of what we do. You make our work possible – from protecting threatened wildlife like bats, dormice and bees to saving some of the UK's last wild places and inspiring the next generation of children to love nature. Every donation we receive makes a difference. Thank you.
"Because it's a local charity you can see where the money goes, and appreciate the hard work that goes into it."Wildlife Trust member
