How much do charities spend on administration?

11th February 2019

It’s clear when a charity is fundraising for a specific project or an essential piece of equipment, that’s tangible and we can very quickly see the end result. However, to understand the ‘unrestricted funding’ needs of a charity i.e. the stuff that’s less easy to see, such as staff wages, vets’ bills and the kind of costs we are all familiar with like heating, lighting, maintaining buildings, necessary insurance and feeding the rescued pets, it all becomes a blur and we can easily forget these day-to-day costs exist and have to be funded somehow.

All good charities will work hard to manage these costs, like any of us running a tight household budget have to do.  We want to see as much of our hard-earned cash available at the end of the month to do the things we want to do. Oak Tree Animals Charity is no different, we want as much of the funds raised to go to effective work that helps the animals and people we seek to support.

It's the bits that aren't ‘fluffy’, that don't tug at the heart strings, but without them we couldn't achieve the goals of the Charity. So, what percentage of charity is administrative costs? We believe in being transparent about our running costs and how we use all the money that we raise. A report is issued each year. The latest is available for any supporter to see and can be accessed here 

If you want to check out any other charity, The Charity Commission have annual reports from 35,000 charities in England and Wales. From these you can tell how much a charity has received over the year and what it has spent it on. Have a look here