How we spend your money
Your support makes a lasting impact on the lives of disabled people with complex needs and their families. With your help we can give children best possible start in life, empower young people and adults to build confidence and connect with their community, and give families the hope and resilience to thrive, not just survive.
The money that Sense receives through donations, grants and statutory funds goes towards giving people like Harvey the support they need to reach new milestones and take part in life.
Meet Harvey
A partnership between Harvey’s family, his nursery and a Sense multi-sensory impairment specialist enabled this young, deafblind explorer to thrive and feel included.
With tailored sensory support, Harvey’s world was opened up, and his confidence grew. Staff at his nursery learned how to adapt activities so he could communicate, play and stay in education. At home, the same approach ensured he could enjoy the magic of everyday moments with his brothers.
Thank you to all our supporters!
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£13.3 million was raised by people like you.
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£3.9 million of that total was gifted to us by 243 generous supporters who remembered Sense in their Will.
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£1.1million was the total raised by over 800 people who ran, cycled and trekked for Sense.
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£995,000 came from the 442 dedicated supporters who ran for Sense at the 2025 London Marathon.
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£75,000 came from the 130 Sense shops that took part in four fun weeks of fundraising.
We're so grateful to everyone that supported us last year
All of our supporters who generously left us a gift in their will
A&L Sussman Charitable Trust
Allwyn Entertainment Ltd
Andrea Gotley Trust
Andrea Gotley Trust
Anson Charitable Trust
Arts Council England
Arts Council of Wales
Audrey Earle Charitable Trust
Audrey Earle Charitable Trust
Baron Davenport Charity Trust
Bedfordshire Foundation Trust
Birkdale Trust for the Hearing Impaired Ltd
Birmingham Fairer Futures Fund
Boden & Co Ltd
Cantiacorum Foundation
Charles S French Charitable Trust
Charnwood Borough Council
Cmf Charitable Trust
Compass Group Foundation
Conwy County Borough Council
Department of Health And Social Care
Edward & Dorothy Cadbury Trust
Elsie Lawrence Trust
Enkalon Foundation
Essex Youth Trust
Forman Hardy Charitable Trust
Forward Carers Consortium Limited
Frazer Trust
Frognal Trust
Garfield Weston
Grand Charity of Freemasons
Harris Charitable Trust
Hays Travel Foundation
Heathgate Charitable Trust
Helen Robertson Charitable Trust
Hollyhock Charitable Foundation
Irwin Mitchell Llp
J A Carr Donation
John Horniman’s Children’s Trust
Johnnie Johnson Trust
Jos: Rofrano Trustee Services Ltd
Keith & Joan Mindelsohn Charitable Trust
Kingsbridge Foundation
Lord And Lady Lurgan Trust
Mabs Mardulyn Charitable Foundation
Margaret’s Charity
Mark Benevolent Fund
Masonic Charitable Foundation
Masonic Charitable Trust
Maurice & Vivienne Wohl Foundation
Mcdermott Trust
Mcdermott Trust (Birmingham Probate)
Mr Roger Eaton Obe
Mrs Heather Stevenson
Mrs J B Wood’s Charitable Trust
Mrs Phyllis Fellows Discretionary Trust
National Philanthropic Trust Uk
Nineveh Trust
Paypal Giving Fund
Peacock Charitable Trust
Pears Foundation
Pfizer Ltd
Pilkington Charity Fund
Princess Anne’s Charities
Richard Wilkins
Rockcliffe Charitable Trust
Shanly Foundation
Simon Gibson Charitable Trust
Smith Charitable Trust
Sport England
St Anthony Of Padua Foundation
Tara Group Ltd
Tesco Plc
The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust
The Alan Edward Higgs Charity
The Ammco Trust
The Annie Tranmer Charitable Trust
The Armstrong Family Trust
The Arnold Edward Charitable Trust
The Bartle Family
The Bartlett Taylor Charitable Trust
The Bascombe Family Charitable Trust
The Beatrice Laing Trust
The Belstead Ganzoni Charitable Settlement
The Blair Foundation
The Boshier-Hinton Foundation
The Buckfast Abbey Foundation
The Buckland Charitable Trust
The Byedowns Charitable Trust
The Charles Brotherton Trust
The Charles Godwin Foundation
The City Bridge Foundation
The D C Moncrieff Charitable Trust
The Davis Rubens Charitable Settlement
The Dennis Alan Yardy Charitable Trust
The Doris Field Charitable Trust
The Downton Banister Trust
The Edith Mary Clark Foundation
The E F Rathbone Charitable Trust
The Eagle Charity Trust
The Earl Fitz Charitable Trust
The Edward Cadbury Charitable Trust
The Eric W Vincent Trust
The Eveso Charitable Trust
The Exilarch’s Foundation
The Fifty Fund
The Florence Turner Trust
The Fort Foundation Trust
The Frederick & Phyllis Cann Trust
The Fulmer Charitable Trust
The Gale Family Charity Trust
The George A. Moor Foundation
The George Goodsir Charitable Trust
The George Michael Fund, The Talent Fund
The Gilander Foundation
The Gordon Gray Trust
The Grace Trust
The Grand Charity
The Grimmitt Trust
The Hadley Trust
The Hamilton Wallace Trust
The Hasluck Charitable Trust
The Ian Askew Charitable Trust
The Innes Family Charitable Trust
The Joseph Hopkins
The Jr Corah Foundation Fund
The Levy Family Charitable Trust
The Lord Cozens-Hardy Trust
The Louis Nicholas Residuary Charitable Trust
The Mary Robertson Trust
The Mickleham Trust
The Minto Charitable Trust
The Mrs Yvonne Flux Charitable Trust
The National Foundation For Youth Music
The National Lottery Community Fund
The Noel Sweeney Foundation
The Nordev Trust
The Patrick &Helena Frost Foundation
The Paul Bassham Charitable Trust
The Peter Storrs Trust
The P F Charitable Trust
The Powell Family Foundation
The Rest-Harrow Trust
The Roselands Trust
The Ross Family Trust
The Simon & Elizabeth Batey Charitable Trust
The Simon Digby Charitable Trust
The Skylarks Endowment Fund
The Smiths and Pinching Charitable Trust
The So-Ma Trust
The Steven Bloch Image of Disability Trust
The Strangward Trust
The Webb Family Charitable Trust
The Welland Charitable Trust
The Wixamtree Trust
The White Oak Charitable Trust
Theodore Maxxy Charitable Trust
Thomas Pocklington Trust
Thomas Stanley Shipman Charitable Trust
United By Birmingham 2022
Uxbridge Charitable Trust
Virgin Media O2
Wain Foundation
Warsue Charitable Trust
Winifred Eileen Kemp Trust
Wolfson Foundation
Here’s how we’ve raised and used funds in the last year
Sense is an efficient and well-run charity. We manage our finances carefully to have the best possible impact on disabled people with complex needs and their families.
Find out how Sense spends your donations
For every pound Sense receives, 76p is spent supporting disabled people with complex needs and their families through our charitable activities. The other 24p is put back to work to raise the next pound so we can do even more.
We spent £104.1million in 2024/25:
| Type of spend | Spend |
| Our charitable activities | |
| Statutory supported living, residential care, community and day opportunities | £66m |
| Statutory specialist education | £3.2m |
| Holidays and short breaks; arts, sport and wellbeing; specialist services for children and young people | £3m |
| International programmes | £2.9m |
| Sense TouchBase Pears community hub | £0.6m |
| Quality and development of services | £1.2m |
| Campaigning, publicity and awareness | £1.9m |
| Fundraising and legacies | £6.9m |
| Sense Trading | £17.7m |
| Other | £0.01m |
| Total | £104.1m |
Read our annual reports and accounts
How we raise money
Sense receives fees for some of our services, in particular our supported living, community, day opportunities and specialist education. But we rely entirely on the generosity of our supporters to sustain and grow the full range of life-changing work we do.
| Type of income | Income |
| Our charitable activities | |
| Statutory supported living, residential care, community and day opportunities | £61.3m |
| Statutory specialist education | £7.7m |
| Holidays and short breaks; arts, sport and wellbeing; specialist services for children and young people | £0.06m |
| International programmes | £1m |
| Fundraising and legacies | £16m |
| Sense Trading | £15.3m |
| Other | £0.8m |
| Total | £102m |
We can only continue our life-changing work with the support of amazing people like you. By making a donation, taking part in an event, fundraising for Sense, or volunteering your time, you can help create a world where every disabled person is connected and included, no matter what.
Our story
Equality, diversity and inclusion
Our strategy
Our impact
