MSI Reproductive Choices (MSI)’s income grew by 11% last year to more than £300m, it has reported.
In the 2022 calendar year, the sexual health charity had a total income of £322.5m, an increase from £290.6m in 2021, according to its most recently published accounts.
But MSI said that it “continues to face a funding crisis” and warned that several of its country programmes “are at risk of closure without vital donor support”.
Simon Cooke, the charity’s chief executive, said he aimed to diversify the charity’s income.
Cooke received a bonus of more than £200,000 in 2022, doubling his pay for a second consecutive year.
The accounts state that the charity’s revenue rise was driven by grants, which rose by over £11m to £147.3m, and service income.
Donations dropped by £1m to £9.7m, a decline from £10.8m in 2021, and MSI recorded a loss of £1.5m in its investment portfolio, “reflecting adverse macroeconomic market conditions in the year”.
The charity’s expenditure increased to £302m from £283m and ended the year with total unrestricted reserves of £103m, compared to £84.6m in 2021.
Possible programme closures
The accounts state that the sexual and reproductive health sector “continues to face a funding crisis” and the charity is making the case to new partners for why reproductive choice is key to building a fairer world, “while also expanding domestic financing for sexual and reproductive healthcare, increasing our social business income, and ensuring strong financial stewardship to provide value for money”.
They add the Covid-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine “is weighing heavily on traditional donor budgets and we are expecting to see further cuts in official development assistance and other sources of aid”.
The charity said this could “lead to us being forced to discontinue some vital services” and several country programmes “are at risk of closure without vital donor support”.
Therefore, Cooke’s forward says “a key priority for MSI will be to more rapidly diversify our funding base”.
In 2022, MSI “continued to make progress broadening our funding base with 50% of our donor income now coming from private giving and 50% from government donors” – this is compared to 25% and 75%, respectively, five years ago.
CEO bonus
Total staff costs were £139.7m, compared to £133.4m the year prior, and the average monthly number of staff was also up (from 8,803 to 8,993).
Cooke, the highest paid member of staff, received a base salary of £233,000 (2021: £232,000) and a bonus of £233,000 (2021: £229,000).
“MSI’s compensation for the most senior executives includes an at-risk, performance-related pay component that reflects the deliverables expected of the organisation and the individual,” the accounts state.
It adds executive compensation is assessed every three years, and that the remuneration committee pays close attention to the external environment.
The Charity Commission previously criticised MSI for the way its trustees decided on the latest pay package for the charity’s chief executive and issued the charity with formal advice.
A Charity Commission spokesperson said: “We expect decisions made by trustees about pay to be made carefully, mindfully and in a way that ultimately serves the charity’s beneficiaries into the future.”
Gender pay gap
For MSI’s global support office based in London, the median gender pay gap has reduced from 12.2% in the first year of reporting (2017) to -5.6% as of April 2022.
The accounts state: “There are however structural issues within the UK clinic operations that have resulted in challenges addressing the median gender pay gap overall, which has remained fairly steady at 36.8% in the first year of reporting and 33.3% in 2022.
“While more than two thirds (69%) of our employees in higher paid medical roles were women, there was a significantly greater proportion of women in lower paid clinical and nonclinical client facing roles,” it said.
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