Reproductive health charity MSI Reproductive Choices (MSI) has reported a more than £100m decline in its annual income following a record year in 2023.
MSI, which provides services in the UK and 36 other countries, reported a total income of £309m for the financial year ending 31 December 2024, a 25% decrease on the 2023 total income of £414m.
The change is largely due to MSI receiving an £81.9m legacy donation from the Ballard Legacy Fund in 2023, which led to its reserves almost doubling to £200m.
In 2024, the charity increased its unrestricted reserves further to £211m, noting in its accounts that “with geopolitical uncertainty and institutional donors making tough decisions about their own funding priorities, a strong reserves position is essential”.
There remains £74.1m of the Ballard Legacy Fund, the accounts note, which “has been designated for use on strategic internal investment projects including technology and finance improvements”.
Excluding the Ballard Legacy, the charity’s 2024 income decreased by 7% (£23m), which it attributed to reductions in donations and grants.
Grant income down by a quarter
MSI’s total legacy income was £1.9m in 2024 compared to £82.1m the year before due to the Ballard Legacy Fund.
The charity’s donations dropped to £4.9m from a total of £6.2m in 2023, while its investment income was £9m, an increase from £5.3m in 2023, mainly driven by bank interest.
Its grant income declined by almost a quarter year-on-year to £111m. The accounts cited “timing differences, foreign exchange volatility and difficulties in operational areas such as Yemen” as reasons behind the decrease.
MSI’s sexual and reproductive healthcare service income increased by 6% to £162m, up from 2023’s figure of £153m.
Meanwhile, the charity’s total expenditure decreased by 6% to £294m in 2024, from £313m in 2023, including realised foreign exchange losses.
MSI reported spending 92.9% of its 2024 total expenditure on charitable activities, versus 94.1% in 2023, and 5.6% on support costs, versus 5.3% in 2023.
£246,000 bonus for CEO
Following a pattern from previous years, the charity awarded its chief executive Simon Cooke a performance-related bonus which was almost double his £249,000 salary.
The number of top earners, earning above £200,000, decreased from seven in 2023 to six in 2024. With the exception of Cooke, they received £290,000 or less annually.
Cooke’s base salary was almost £250,000, on top of which he gained a performance-related bonus of around £246,000. For comparison, in 2024, he received £245,000 and a bonus of £239,000.
In the accounts, Cooke noted that a “period of unprecedented upheaval in the international development sector” due to foreign aid cuts had taken effect in 2025.
