Charitable status

The University of Brighton is a Higher Education Corporation by virtue of the Education Reform Act 1988 as amended by the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. 

As a Higher Education Corporation, the university is an exempt charity under Schedule 3 of the Charities Act 2011. This means that it is not registered with the Charity Commission but is regulated instead by the Office for Students which is responsible for ensuring that the university fulfils its obligations under charity law, including demonstrating how the university has delivered its charitable purposes for the public benefit.

This section details the university's charitable status and its related benefits. As an exempt charity, the university does not have a registered charity number but instead is able to use an Inland Revenue reference (XR7098) to denote appropriate charitable status.

Legal name and correspondence address

Our legal and preferred name is the University of Brighton.

Our correspondence address is: University of Brighton, Mithras House, Lewes Road, Brighton BN2 4AT

Powers of the Higher Education Corporation

Under section 124 (1) of the Education Reform Act 1988, the university has power to provide higher education, further education and to carry out research and publish the results of such research.

Section 124 (2) allows the university to do anything which appears to the trustees to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of providing higher education, further education and research.

The university's trustees

The Board of Governors of the university are its trustees. Details of the Board of Governors are available, including details of all other charity trusteeships held by members.

Constitutional documents

The university's full legal name is the University of Brighton.

The university's primary constitutional documents are:

(1) The Instrument of Government of the University of Brighton dated 16 February 1993 creating the Higher Education Corporation in accordance with section 124 (3) and (4) and Schedules 7 and 7A of the Education reform Act 1998. The instrument gives details of the constitution of the Higher Education Corporation.

(2) The Articles of Government of the University of Brighton which became effective on 2 December 1994 and were revised in June 2007. The articles give details of the internal structures and running of the university.

You can download a copy of the Instrument and Articles (pdf).

Financial statements

The full audited consolidated financial statements and expenses are available.

University funding

In common with most other universities in the UK and across the world, the University of Brighton undertakes a range of professional fundraising activities to secure philanthropic funds to support the life and work of the university today. These funds are raised from alumni (former students), friends of the university, corporate organisations and charitable trusts and foundations.

Our fundraising utilises a range of channels and is conducted by paid university staff, including current students.

All fundraising is carried out in a professional manner, adhering to relevant policies and best practise. The university has established a Gift Oversight Group to oversee the acceptance, administration and allocation of all philanthropic donations received, including associated due diligence work.

A policy outlining our approach to donation acceptance, disbursement and ethical fundraising (pdf) is available to view.

In addition, a policy regarding institutional naming of buildings and facilities (pdf) can be viewed online.

The University of Brighton is a registered member of the Fundraising Regulator and adheres to the guidance provided in the Code of Fundraising Practice.

Benefits of our charitable status

As an institution with charitable status:

The university can reclaim tax from HM Revenue & Customs under the Gift Aid scheme (Inland Revenue reference XR7098), increasing the value of philanthropic donations made by UK tax payers by 25 per cent.

  • Higher-rate taxpayers can also qualify for personal tax deductions on philanthropic donations made to the university.
  • The university pays no income tax and inheritance tax on gifts of money or property it receives. A bequest made to the university in a will reduces the tax payable on the estate.
  • A gift of stocks and shares made to the university will reduce the donor's income tax liability, and makes the gift exempt from capital gains tax.