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canal & river trust

The charity supports the general public. Canal & River Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is education and training. It delivers its work by providing buildings, facilities, or open space. The charity is based in Cheshire and operates in England And Wales.


This page summarises publicly available information about the charity, including its activities, beneficiaries, and registration details, based on official records.

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Activities & Mission

Canal & River Trust is the charitable operator and guardian of 2,000 miles of historic waterways across England and Wales. In addition to caring for the waterways so that they are available for the public to enjoy, the Trust maintains the nations' third largest collection of listed heritage structures, as well as museums, archives, and hundreds of important wildlife sites.

Fundraising

See where Canal & River Trust is active and find local fundraising opportunities.

Financial Information

Latest Income
£237,300,000
Latest Expenditure
£252,400,000

Financial Efficiency

Program Ratio 87.9%
% of income going directly to charitable activities
Overall Efficiency 82.6%
% of expenditure going to programs (vs overhead)
Administrative Ratio 17.6%
Overhead (fundraising + governance) as % of total expenditure

Latest Financial Breakdown

Income Sources

Donations & Legacies £6,300,000
Charitable Activities £78,500,000
Other Trading £97,100,000
Investments £54,300,000
Other Income £1,100,000

Expenditure Categories

Charitable Expenditure £208,600,000
Raising Funds £43,700,000
Governance £600,000
Grants to Institutions £0
Other Expenditure £100,000

Financial Trend

Annual Returns

Financial YearIncomeExpenditureCharitable SpendingNet AssetsReservesStaff
2024£237,300,000£252,400,000£208,600,000£832,900,000£830,900,0001796 / 4566
2023£225,100,000£247,900,000£199,500,000£875,200,000£3,400,0001810 / 4306
2022£214,600,000£221,800,000£180,200,000£1,042,300,000£10,700,0001729 / 3748
2021£215,400,000£221,300,000£183,300,000£881,700,000£19,300,0001590 / 2204
2020£216,100,000£232,800,000£194,100,000£876,100,000£26,800,0001609 / 3606

Staff column shows: Employees / Volunteers