Overall GiG Score: 8 ?
Finance Score: 0
Governance Score: 3
Support Score: 5
  • No PartB
  • Gender balanced board: +3
  • Grant maker support: +5

THE LAUGHTER SPECIALISTS 

The Laughter Specialists Charitable Trust funds programmes of specially trained entertainers to visit sick children and vulnerable adults in hospital and those with special needs calling on their training and experience and using their artistic and entertainment skills to bring them laughter and fun thereby improving their well being. Other activities include talks and training workshops.
Analysis by Giving is Great

Positives:

  • The charity has received backing from multiple prominent grant makers, including a Community Foundation, recently
  • There have been no material income shortfalls in recent years
  • The Board appears to be well diversified in terms of gender

Financial issues to consider:

  • A PartB annual return has not been required and so detailed financial information is not available from the online data
Established: 14 years

www.thelaughterspecialists.com

fun@thelaughterspecialists.co.uk

07980570466

Charity Commission for England and Wales
UN SDGs
?

Financial Data ?

Income & Spending ?
Sources of Income ?
Y/E Income
£k
Spending
£k
Surplus/
Deficit
Fundraising
Cost £k
Total
Funds £k
Unrestricted
Funds £k
Mths
Rsrvs
Staff Volun-
teers
31/03/23£90£77£13n/an/an/an/an/a5
31/03/22£63£57£6n/an/an/an/an/a0
31/03/21£63£60£3n/an/an/an/an/a5
31/03/20£78£81£-3n/an/an/an/an/a3
31/03/19£85£96£-11n/an/an/an/an/a10
31/03/18£78£68£10£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/17£63£56£7£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/16£60£47£13£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/15£38£41£-2£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/14*£53£38£15£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/13£26£27£-1£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/12£21£23£-2£0£0£0n/a00
31/03/11?£11£9£3£0£0£0n/a00
25/09/10*£9£12£-4£0£0£0n/a00

Highest pay bracket: less than £60,000
What it does
  • Arts/Culture/Heritage/Science
  • Disability
  • Education/Training
  • The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives
Who works here?
  • 5 volunteers
Who it helps
  • Children/Young People
  • Elderly/Old People
  • People With Disabilities
  • The General Public/Mankind
How it operates
  • Provides advocacy/advice/information
  • Provides human resources
  • Provides services
Where it operates
  • Throughout England,

Who's supporting them? ?

Donations from Grant Makers ?

We have details on the following significant donations. Multi-year donations are allocated to the years for which they are earmarked.

Major supporters in last 5 years
National Lottery Community Fund£19,320
Essex Community Foundation£16,500
DCMS£9,800
Woodward Charitable Trust£500
Specific Donations
Amount When
Months
To be used for
Essex Community Foundation - Grant to Laughter Specialists
£1,500 14/02/2023
to provide an uplift in funding for the core costs of the organisation through the cost-of-living crisis
National Lottery Community Fund - Supporting children with disabilities special needs and chronic illnesses.
£9,520 06/01/2023
The funding will deliver a programme of laughter fun and play activities for children with disabilities special needs and chronic illnesses with the aim of improving mental and physical health and ....more
Essex Community Foundation - Grant to Laughter Specialists
£15,000 07/04/2022
to cover recruitment, training and wages of two new part time laughter specialists to deliver sessions to severely ill children or those with SEND across Essex
National Lottery Community Fund - Laughter not just nice to have -Lifting the community
£9,800 27/05/2021
The funding will be used to pilot a whole family laughter club for special needs children and their families in Harlow and Saffron Walden. The project aims to use laughter to promote fun connections ....more
DCMS - Coronavirus Community Support Fund
£9,800 04/08/2020
"The fund aims to:1) To reduce closures of essential charities that provide essential services to vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 crisis by ensuring they have the financial resources to ....more
Woodward Charitable Trust - For core costs
£500 02/04/2019
Towards core costs.
National Lottery Community Fund - Laughter and Communication Matters
£9,600 21/02/2019
12
The organisation will use the funding to hire a project support worker to help coordinate the specialist therapy services offered by the group and improve the experience.
Essex Community Foundation - Grant to Laughter Specialists
£9,750 29/05/2018
12
To embed evaluation methods to develop and expand programmes of support to children with special needs
BBC Children in Need - Grant to Laughter Specialists Charitable Trust
£30,000 13/03/2018
36
This project will fund 'Laughter Specialists' to visit hospitals to perform for and with young people who are unwell and receiving treatment. This will help to reduce anxiety, help them to better ....more
Essex Community Foundation - Laughter Specialist visits to Broomfield Hospital
£5,000 26/01/2018
12
To enable fifteen laughter specialist sessions at Broomfield Hospital to distract children from their medical interventions
National Lottery Community Fund - The Training and Creation of New Laughter Specialist Role.
£5,875 16/08/2017
12
This group will use the funding to run a training programme for a new Laughter Specialist. This will enable the organisation to provide more work throughout health organisations, helping children ....more
Essex Community Foundation - Continuation of Laughter Specialist work with Colombus School & College, Chelmsford
£5,000 09/06/2017
12
To continue therapeutic play visits to a Chelmsford school for special needs children
Woodward Charitable Trust - Towards the costs of visiting Granta School for Special Needs in Cambridge
£500 23/03/2017
Towards the costs of visiting Granta School for Special Needs in Cambridge.
Woodward Charitable Trust - Towards the fees and expenses of two specialists
£1,000 09/02/2015
Towards the fees and expenses of two specialists to special needs schools.
Show more rows

Data sourced from Donors via 360 Giving

How is it governed?

Trustees (5)
Current Trustees appointed
Gender Split

Legal constitution
  • Charity registered in England & Wales on 26/11/2009, number: 1132987
Gift Aid
  • Registered with HMRC for Gift Aid
Policies in force
  • Conflicting interests
  • Financial reserves policy and procedures
  • Safeguarding policy and procedures
  • Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
Filing Record
14 returns made; AR14: 14 days late, AR10: 36 days late,
Main office

Falcons
Park Road
Little Easton
Great Dunmow
Essex
CM6 2JH

Objectives

1) TO RELIEVE SICKNESS, PRESERVE AND PROTECT THE HEALTH OF CHILDREN AND ADULTS INCLUDING THOSE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN THE UK BY PROVIDING SPECIALLY TRAINED ENTERTAINERS (KNOWN AS LAUGHTER SPECIALISTS) USING ARTISTIC AND ENTERTAINMENT SKILLS TO BRING LAUGHTER, FUN AND OTHER THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITIES FOR HOSPITALS, SCHOOLS, RESIDENTIAL HOMES AND SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS. 2) TO RELIEVE ELDERLY PEOPLE IN NEED IN THE UK, BY PROVIDING TRAINED ENTERTAINERS KNOWN AS LAUGHTER SPECIALISTS FOR DAY CENTRES, CARE HOMES, NURSING HOMES AND SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS. 3) TO ADVANCE THE EDUCATION OF THE PUBLIC IN THE THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS OF THE SUBJECT OF LAUGHTER THERAPY

Defined Area of Benefit:

THE UK

Data Sources

Charity Commission for England and Wales
360 Giving
CharityBase
Authorised officials of this charity can add information to this page (including a Donate Now button) for no cost

Tips for Selecting Charities

Which areas of philanthropy are most effective?
The text of this post is taken from an article on the Effective Altruism forum. It suggests that you can achieve the most impact by supporting causes that fight extreme poverty, improving animal welfare....more
Our Top Tips for Philanthropy
Here are some ideas to help you gain more satisfaction from your philanthropy and confidence that the causes you have selected are impactful. Engage your brain, as well as your heart You....more
How to become a Philanthropist
In this Blog we outline a strategy to help people who are new to philanthropy and for those who feel dissatisfied with the impact they are having. Effective philanthropy is immensely rewarding for donors,....more

Giving is Great