John Nicholls' Charity For The Poor
Charity 246232
Overview
Summary
John Nicholls' Charity For The Poor appears to be a small, place-bound relief charity whose practical role is more direct and adaptive than its broad registry classifications imply. Its stated purpose is restricted to poor Church of England members in the former parish of St. David, while its reported activity focuses on food and occasional clothing. The available evidence also raises a material question about its current institutional home: the listed website appears to belong to a different Church of England parish and charity.
Operational geography
Evidence and reasoning
Supporting evidence
Ladywood
Confidence: low
The charity has a listed Birmingham contact address, but this is not explicit confirmation that food or clothing assistance is delivered from the site. Available evidence therefore provides only limited evidence of an operational location.
- Charity Commission Register entry for John Nicholls' Charity for the Poor (charity 246232)
Lists the charity's address as a Birmingham contact address. - Birmingham City Council: St Thomas Church of England Primary School directory record
Contains administrative location information for a Birmingham address.
Remaining uncertainties
- The Charity Commission describes the fund's activity as providing food and sometimes clothes, but does not identify where this assistance is delivered, whether it is distributed from St Luke's Church Centre, or where recipients live.
- The charity reported £0 income and £0 expenditure for the year ending 31 December 2024. This leaves uncertainty over whether it is currently delivering assistance in practice, despite its registered activity description.
- Its governing object limits assistance to poor Church of England members resident in the former ecclesiastical parish of St David, Birmingham, but the available evidence does not identify that historic parish against current local geography.
- The listed Gas Street Church website is operated by the separate Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Luke Edgbaston Birmingham (charity 1161342). Its four church locations, community services and partnerships cannot be treated as operational activity of John Nicholls' Charity for the Poor without evidence that this fund supports them.
- The Charity Commission's general 'Birmingham City' operating-area declaration conflicts in scale with the charity's parish-limited objects. The objects provide stronger evidence of a localised intended beneficiary geography, but not of a precisely evidenced current service footprint.
Additional evidence needed
- A current statement from the trustee or administering church confirming whether the fund is active and the location or method through which food, clothing or grants are provided.
- Anonymised, aggregated records of recent awards or distributions showing general recipient areas served and methods of delivery or referral.
- The governing scheme or authoritative historic parish mapping needed to identify the former ecclesiastical parish of St David against current local geography.
- Evidence of any formal arrangement between the fund and Gas Street Church or St Luke's Church Centre, including whether the centre is used for delivery, administration only, or neither.
Areas of work
- General Charitable Purposes
Who they help
- The General Public/mankind
How they help
- Provides Buildings/facilities/open Space
Discoveries involving this organisation
The Atlas has not published any Discoveries involving this organisation yet.
Observations
A historic parish endowment functioning as direct hardship relief
The charity appears to translate a narrowly defined historic trust purpose into practical emergency support, principally food and sometimes clothing, rather than operating programmes or facilities.
Why it matters
This helps distinguish it from a general community charity: its likely value lies in flexible, individual-level relief for a specific local and faith-defined population.
Show evidence
“The charity benefits poor persons who are members of the Church of England and resident in the former ecclesiastical parish of St. David.”
Source:Charity Commission“The fund was used to help poor people by giving people food and, sometimes, clothes.”
Source:Charity Commission
Demand may be exceeding the charity's recurring income
The charity may be drawing on reserves, donations or other non-income resources to maintain support, suggesting that identified need has been greater than annual investment or trust income.
Why it matters
This is an important indicator of both responsiveness and potential fragility: the charity may be meeting acute need, but its present model may not be financially sustainable without replenishment.
Show evidence
“All the money was used for this purpose and, in practice, more was spent than the income of the charity.”
Source:Charity Commission
The public-facing identity may be unclear or mismatched
The listed website may not be a reliable public representation of this charity, as it identifies Gas Street and a separate charity operated by the parish of St Luke Edgbaston rather than John Nicholls' Charity For The Poor.
Why it matters
If the link reflects an administrative relationship, it could reveal a route through which the charity is governed or delivered. If not, it may make the charity difficult for eligible people, partners and researchers to identify or contact.
Show evidence
“The website identifies Gas Street as part of the Church of England and gives charity number 1161342, operated by the Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Luke Edgbaston Birmingham.”
Source:Organisation“The charity's objects refer to the former ecclesiastical parish of St. David.”
Source:Charity Commission
- Whether eligibility is actively limited to Church of England members in the former St. David parish.
- Whether Gas Street or St Luke Edgbaston has a formal governance or delivery relationship with the charity.
- How many people receive support, how referrals work and whether spending above income is sustainable.
Remaining uncertainties
- Recent trustees' annual report and accounts, including reserves, income sources and beneficiary numbers.
- Current trustee, administrator and contact details, plus evidence of any relationship with Gas Street or St Luke Edgbaston.
- A description of eligibility checks, referral routes and the geographic area currently treated as the former parish of St. David.
Additional evidence needed
Charity Commission profile
Activities
This fund was used to help poor people. This is now done by giving people food and, sometimes, clothes. We have used all the money for this purpose - in practice we spent much more than the income of the charity.
Charity objects
THE BENEFIT OF SUCH POOR PERSONS, BEING MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, RESIDENT IN THE FORMER ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF ST. DAVID, AS THE TRUSTEES THINK FIT EITHER IN THE SUPPLY OF ARTICLES OR GRANTS OF MONEY.