The RGS-IBG currently has an annual turnover of approximately £4.3m.

Membership subscriptions are the single largest source, supplying one third of the core income. A further 30% comes from our commercial operations. Corporate sponsorships contribute £200,000 per annum. Remaining core income is generated from operating activities in education, research, expeditions and fieldwork, as well as a modest sum from investments.

We are working to raise our legacy income, which is highly variable but has averaged around £100,000 pa for the past ten years.   

Our project-based activities are supported by individual donors, by trusts and foundations; and by grants from selected government departments, including a current contract of almost £500,000 pa to support teaching and learning of geography at school.  

To date in the current strategic development phase, we have raised more than £5m project-based funding and we are now concentrating especially on capital fundraising for refurbishment of selected spaces and the creation of an endowment fund to pump prime future growth of the Society in perpetuity from legacies and donations.

Funding priorities are agreed annually by the Society’s Council and guided by the current five-year Strategic Plan.

For detailed information on the sources and allocation of funds, please read current Annual Review.