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Annual Report and Accounts 2023/24

RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People) is the UK's leading sight loss charity, supporting blind and partially sighted people since 1868. In 2023/24 Eye Care Liaison Officers reached over 72,000 people in hospital eye clinics, and RNIB Bookshare provided access to over one million accessible reading items. The #OutOfSight campaign gathered 20,000 petition signatures calling for national vision rehabilitation standards, and the accessible voting campaign highlighted the ongoing failure to allow visually impaired people to vote in secret. RNIB also delivered 100+ inclusive street design sessions to councils and transport authorities nationwide.

Report snapshot
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About

RNIB Helpline; RNIB Bookshare accessible library; Talking Books service; Eye Care Liaison Officers; accessible voting campaign; inclusive streets training; tech accessibility advocacy; braille and print production services

Key Metrics

Key Metric 1 72,000+ people reached by Eye Care Liaison Officers (ECLOs) in hospital eye clinics
Key Metric 2 1 million+ items in RNIB Bookshare free accessible reading library for people in education
Key Metric 3 20,000+ petition signatures gathered for #OutOfSight campaign demanding national vision rehabilitation standards

Key Outcomes

  • Delivered accessible voting campaign post-2024 General Election, highlighting that 87% of visually impaired voters are denied the right to vote in secret
  • Hosted 100+ guided walks and training sessions on inclusive street design with councils and transport authorities across England
  • Launched Braille 200 anniversary campaign (September 2024 to August 2025) to celebrate and promote braille literacy

Geography

UK-Wide

Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
Total income £18,180,000 and total expenditure £18,560,000 (year ended 31 December 2024, charity no. 1084958 England/Wales and SC039654 Scotland); in 2024 spent £3.8m on...
Key Metric 2
700+ members supported through in-person visits and support calls in 2025; 697 support grants allocated in 2025 for essential items including specialist clothing, cooling...
Key Metric 3
Largest global investment in EB research to date: multi-million-pound drug repurposing trial provisionally agreed with LifeArc partner at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation...
£34,000 raised in 2025 winter appeal supporting families like Darcie's with specialist items, emotional support and research; 697 support grants delivered in 2025; first Members Connect event in Northern Ireland; EB Priorities Setting Partnership study completed providing global research roadmap
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
22,507 households helped through RBL casework and specialist support services across 66 countries
Key Metric 2
22,600 grants given to those in need, totalling £11.8 million
Key Metric 3
733 beneficiaries represented at tribunals, resulting in £24.5 million in War Pensions awards
1,548 new families living with dementia supported by RBL Admiral Nurses service
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
3,600 blind veterans received support across the UK; 447 new blind veterans started receiving support in 2024/25
Key Metric 2
1,598 referrals to rehabilitation services completed; 313 veterans received assistive technology training
Key Metric 3
997 volunteers donated 26,824 hours of support; befriending service awarded Quality in Befriending Excellence — one of only 11 organisations in the UK to...
1,831 National Creative Wellbeing Project packs issued to help veterans reconnect with creativity and independence
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
349,000+ people completed the Know Your Risk tool to assess their risk of type 2 diabetes in 2024
Key Metric 2
£4 million invested in 17 new research projects; total active grants portfolio worth over £45 million
Key Metric 3
32% of people completing NHS England's Path to Remission programme — which Diabetes UK campaigned for — put their type 2 diabetes into remission
Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge invested over £23 million in 19 projects across 161 experts from 47 institutions in 8 countries since 2022