The Friends of The National Archives CIO

The Friends is a registered charity (1185971) and became operational as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) in November 2020. It replaced the original unincorporated association charity (328630) established in 1988 to support the then Public Record Office, and subsequently The National Archives at Kew. The Charity's role is to continue the work of the old charity by supporting the work of The National Archives for public benefit through providing funding for projects to enable the public record to be made more easily accessible and for conservation projects. Funding is also provided for outreach and education projects to bring new audiences to the collection held at Kew that covers one thousand years of documented history. Practical support is given through volunteers to help transcribe the records and assist at events held at Kew. We hold events at Kew and online for members and organise external group visits to places of historical and archival importance. We have over eight hundred members across the UK and overseas.