The RNLI is principally funded by legacies (65%) and voluntary donations (28%), with the remainder from merchandising and investment. In 2021, the RNLI's income was £219.9million, which included government contracts worth £3.7million, while its expenditure on delivering a lifeboat service was £157.8million. It has 65 employees paid more than £60,000 per year, and 21% of its expenditure was on fundraising and governance rather than delivering its charitable aims.
