List of all taxpayer-funded charities (so far)

Total government grant funding to analysed organisations, 2020–2025: £1.73bn

Below is my latest directory of taxpayer-funded charities.

I have listed 47 below (bearing in mind the Charity Commission for England and Wales lists 171,170 charities NB. Not all are taxpayer funded). I will be adding to this as and when. You can find lists of charities grouped by theme below (in my resources section).

Total taxpayer spending (across the last five tax years) for the charities below £1,728,667,660.00 aka:

£1.73 BILLION


Top 10 biggest recipients

  • British Council — £1,201,290,000 (2020–24)

  • Migrant Help — £153,592,000 (2020–24)

  • Wellcome Trust — £105,998,100 (2020–24)

  • BBC Media Action — £52,112,800 (2021–25)

  • Overseas Development Institute (ODI Global) — £47,302,990 (2020–24)

  • British Refugee Council — £41,588,000 (2021–25)

  • Centre for Economic Policy Research — £22,510,000 (2020–24)

  • Universities UK — £17,973,760 (2020–24)

  • Institute for Fiscal Studies — £14,657,850 (2020–24)

  • Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) — £8,291,110 (2020–24)


Read more

More Articles

Charlotte Gill
12 January 2026

List of taxpayer-funded charities (think tanks)

£123,655,840's worth of funding
Charlotte Gill
9 January 2026

Why did taxpayers pay £153 million to “Migrant Help”?

The charity teaches children how to welcome migrants to the UK among its other services
Charlotte Gill
8 January 2026

Migrant Help: £153 MILLION charity that teaches children how to welcome migrants to the UK

In addition to its many other services for asylum seekers and migrants
Charlotte Gill
8 January 2026

The hidden cost of immigration and asylum charities to UK taxpayers

I go through 20 charities - accounting for £222,815,550 (!) in taxpayer funding