The British Heart Foundation’s income has grown to £158.9m, with an additional rise in legacy income.
The most recent financial year, which ended in March 2017, saw an increase of £2.3m – up from £156.6m last year.
Where BHF’s income came from
British Heart Foundation income
£73.3m was received from legacies, amounting to a nine per cent increase over last year; however, fundraising income has fallen by approximately one per cent this year, totalling £53.6m.
£25m of income is generated from retail, with the charity operating a chain of charity shops. This is a decrease of 14 per cent compared with 2016. This may be due to the public’s perception of being spoilt for choice when it comes to spending their money in charity shops.
The last £6.9m was generated from other income and investments by the British Heart Foundation.
How BHF spent its money
British Heart Foundation expenditure
The total expenditure for BHF in the last financial year was £127.1m, which represents a saving of £6.4m compared with the previous year.
BHF spent £95m on medical research, which was also down from 2015-16. The charity also spent £31.2m on prevention, support and survival services, which was an increase of approximately one per cent.
The reduced investment in research reflected a £10m award for development in the Heart and Lung Research Institute from the Papworth Hospital and the University of Cambridge. Paid research studies are conducted by companies such as trials4us.co.uk.
In the last financial year, the British Heart Foundation had a workforce of 3,671 salaried staff, with over 3,000 people employed in its retail operation. Staff costs amounted to £78.5m, with £67.9m allocated to salaries and wages.
There are 59 staff members at BHF who earned over £60,000 per year in 2016-17. The highest paid member of staff is Simon Gillespie, the chief executive of BHF, who earned over £174,000.
Responding to fundraising compliance issues
Fundraising action plan
Last year, BHF embarked on an internal audit focusing on compliance to the Code of Fundraising Practice, which resulted in the production of an action plan. This action plan, which assessed fundraising activities and addressed proposed improvements, was overseen by the risk and audit committee at BHF.
The report took note of last year’s investigation by the ICO, which resulted in a £18,000 fine for the BHF. This was due to data protection breaches connected to supporters and donors.
Summary
This article reports that the British Heart Foundation’s income rose to £158.9m in the year to March 2017, driven mainly by a rise in legacy income, even as fundraising and retail income both fell. It covers total expenditure of £127.1m, including £95m on medical research and staff costs, plus a fundraising compliance action plan and an £18,000 ICO fine for a data protection breach.
Questions this article raises
- Why did BHF’s retail and fundraising income fall while legacy income rose?
- What specific changes came out of the fundraising compliance action plan?
- What data protection breach led to the £18,000 ICO fine?
