Absolute Return for Kids (Ark)

Absolute Return for Kids (Ark) scores 67 out of 100 (3 stars — Needs improvement) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its UK regulator filings. Around 95% of its spending goes to charitable activities (3-yr avg) and its accounts are up to date. That reflects how transparent and financially healthy it looks on paper — it does not measure the real-world impact of its work, so treat it as one factor alongside the cause you care about. CharityCompare never tells you where to donate.

The register data used for this profile lists Absolute Return for Kids (Ark) as a registered charity (charity number 1095322). Verify it on the official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=1095322&subId=0. Check the current entry and the identity of anyone requesting money. Registration does not verify a particular appeal; Clarity Score summarises filing transparency, not programme impact.

Absolute Return for Kids (Ark)'s charity number is 1095322. Check that number on the official register (Charity Commission, OSCR or CCNI) or this CharityCompare profile before you donate — scammers sometimes reuse real numbers on fake appeals.

Absolute Return for Kids (Ark) scores 67 out of 100 on CharityCompare (3 stars — Needs improvement). The Clarity Score (method v1.1) sums four pillars from UK regulator filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 pts), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10). Stars use the same bands as those labels — 90+ is 5★ Exceptional. It is not an impact ranking.

CharityCompare does not host public user reviews for Absolute Return for Kids (Ark). Instead you get a filing-based Clarity Score, cause spend, reserves and red flags such as late accounts (one red flag on this profile: sharp income decline). For formal complaints about a charity, contact the Charity Commission, OSCR, CCNI or the Fundraising Regulator as appropriate.

Across the recent disclosed accounts used for this score, 95% of Absolute Return for Kids (Ark)'s total spending went to charitable activities (3-yr avg across disclosed years). That is the closest official figure to "how much of your donation reaches the cause" — it is an average across all spending in the filing, not a pound-by-pound breakdown of an individual gift.

Across the recent disclosed accounts used for this score, fundraising costs were about 5% of total expenditure and fundraising plus separately reported governance figures amount to about 6% of expenditure (2023–2025, disclosed years); these categories can overlap, so this is not a distinct total of all administration costs at Absolute Return for Kids (Ark). Absolute Return for Kids (Ark)'s annual return for the year ending 31 August 2025 reports 8 employees paid more than £60,000, including 4 employees paid more than £100,000. The highest reported pay band is £200,001–£250,000 (1 employee). Individual salaries, including the chief executive's, are disclosed in the trustees' annual report rather than on the register.

Absolute Return for Kids (Ark) reported £6.4m total income in its 2025 accounts, based on UK regulator filings. Five-year trend: check comparability.

Filing status: up to date (last filing 2026-06-29). CharityCompare flags late or missing accounts separately from the financial score.

Absolute Return for Kids (Ark)'s registered contact address is in London (W12 7TF). It tells the regulator it operates in India, South Africa, Uganda, England, with a focus on poverty relief.

The Charity Commission register does not name individual salaries. Absolute Return for Kids (Ark)'s annual return for the year ending 31 August 2025 reports 8 employees paid more than £60,000, including 4 employees paid more than £100,000. The highest reported pay band is £200,001–£250,000 (1 employee). Charities normally disclose the chief executive's pay, or the pay of their highest-paid staff, in the remuneration note of the trustees' annual report and accounts.

Absolute Return for Kids (Ark) reported £6.4m total income for the year ending 31 August 2025. The largest sources were donations and legacies £5.7m (89%), investments £365k (6%), other income £338k (5%).

The register records Absolute Return for Kids (Ark) as registered with HMRC for Gift Aid, so a UK taxpayer can usually add 25p to every £1 they give by making a Gift Aid declaration.

Absolute Return for Kids (Ark)'s annual return for the year ending 31 August 2025 reports that no trustee received remuneration or other benefits from the charity.

Absolute Return for Kids (Ark) was entered on the register on 9 January 2003. It is also a company registered at Companies House (company number 04589451).

We calculate a Clarity Score of 0–100 from four pillars in Absolute Return for Kids (Ark)'s regulator filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 points — filing history, trustees, policies), Financial Health (30 — reserves, income trend, debt), Financial Efficiency (20 — cause spend and fundraising cost, on a graduated scale) and Community Support (10 — volunteer-to-staff ratio). An open statutory inquiry scores 0. The score measures reporting on paper, not programme impact. CharityCompare is free for donors, takes no commission on donations, and scores cannot be bought.

This profile was last updated on 6 September 2026 from the latest UK regulator data available to CharityCompare, and Absolute Return for Kids (Ark)'s most recent accounts cover 2025. Scores and figures refresh whenever we re-ingest the register, so the page reflects our latest data pull rather than a one-off review.