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the royal african society

The charity supports children and young people, other defined groups, and the general public. The Royal African Society is a registered charity whose purpose is arts, culture, heritage, or science. It delivers its work by providing services. The charity is based in London and operates in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and 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

The RAS continued running its various programmes and publications in 2022, including African Affairs, African Arguments, the Africa APPG, Film Africa festival, public events programme and a high profile 120th anniversary celebration.

Fundraising

See where The Royal African Society is active and find local fundraising opportunities.

Financial Information

Latest Income
£765,160
Latest Expenditure
£1,119,251

Financial Efficiency

Program Ratio 135.0%
% of income going directly to charitable activities
Overall Efficiency 92.3%
% of expenditure going to programs (vs overhead)
Administrative Ratio 37.3%
Overhead (fundraising + governance) as % of total expenditure

Latest Financial Breakdown

Income Sources

Donations & Legacies £197,740
Charitable Activities £557,837
Other Trading £0
Investments £9,583
Other Income £0

Expenditure Categories

Charitable Expenditure £1,033,258
Raising Funds £85,993
Governance £331,923
Grants to Institutions £0
Other Expenditure £0

Financial Trend

Annual Returns

Financial YearIncomeExpenditureCharitable SpendingNet AssetsReservesStaff
2024£765,160£1,119,251£1,033,258£36,095£28,02510 / 25
2023£599,496£821,509£754,297£383,737£383,73710 / 35
2022£1,037,032£860,984£815,518£577,926£550,6769 / 20
2021£651,471£676,567£638,781£438,489£430,8238 / 20
2020£520,458£563,952£529,798£428,373£390,9348 / 1

Staff column shows: Employees / Volunteers