Children & youth · Reg 1189287
CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION
Charity rating & review
67/100 Clarity Score · 2 stars · Charity Commission filings · How we score
Clarity score
Needs improvement
Is CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION a good charity?
CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION scores 67/100 (Needs improvement) on our Clarity Score, with 70% of spending going to charitable activities and accounts late. This reflects financial transparency and stewardship from Charity Commission filings — not the real-world impact of its programmes. See the full breakdown.
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Mission
CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION is a registered charity (no. 1189287) working in children & youth across the United Kingdom. Its latest Charity Commission filing directs 70% of spending to charitable activities, holding roughly 2 months of reserves, though its recent accounts were filed late. Reported income has been declining over recent years. CharityCompare's Clarity Score rates the organisation only from public Charity Commission accounts — accountability, financial health, efficiency and community support — not the quality or impact of its programmes.
In short: CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION scores 67 out of 100 (2 stars). 70% average program spend (3-year average). Review the pillar breakdown below.
Overview
CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION has a Clarity Score of 67 out of 100 on CharityCompare (2 stars, Needs improvement). Charity Commission registration number 1189287. Status: Registered. Primary cause area: Children & youth. Latest accounts year 2021: total income £912k, with 70% of expenditure on charitable activities. Accounts filing: late. Reserves: approximately 2 months of operating costs. 2 filing concern(s) noted on this profile. Scores are independent and based on official filings — not a donation recommendation.
Data from Charity Commission register, last updated .
Overall score
67/100
2★ · Needs improvement
Cause spend
70%
3-yr avg · charitable activities
Accountability
75/100
Finance beacon
Income
£912k
Latest year 2021
Reserves
2 mo
Months of running costs
Accounts filing
Late
Check register
£3.3 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) · 33% overhead · Website on register · Confidence: medium
How CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION compares
Clarity Score benchmarked against similar UK charities — higher is better.
Ranks higher than 25% of 2,157 charities in its income band.
Ranks higher than 22% of 3,988 charities in this cause.
Data & confidence
- Source
- Charity Commission (E&W)
- Accounts year
- 2021
- Filing date
- 2026-06-24 00:00:00.0000000
- Profile reviewed
- 2026-06-25
Medium confidence — some data missing or late
Scores reflect the latest annual accounts on the register. Impact, leadership, and culture beacons require information beyond public filings.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Charity Commission for England and Wales . Open Government Licence v3.0 .
Beacon report
Detailed accountability and finance metrics from Charity Commission filings — structured for transparency in our four-beacon report.
Accountability & Transparency
Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.
75/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Filing history (5 years) 100% on-time over five years = 15 pts · one late filing = 5 pts · two or more = 0 pts. | 33% | 5/15 pts |
| Trustee oversight Three or more trustees on the register = 15 pts · one or two = 0 pts (governance red flag). | 100% | 11 trustees · 15/15 pts |
| Declared policies Safeguarding (4) · conflict of interest (3) · volunteer management (3) — from Charity Commission annual return. | 100% | 10/10 pts |
Financial Health
Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.
57/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Reserves (months of cash) 3–24 months = 15 pts · 1–3 months = 7 pts · under 1 month or over 3 years (hoarding) = 0 pts. | 47% | 2 months · 7/15 pts |
| Income stability / growth Positive or stable three-year revenue trend = 10 pts · sustained decline = 0 pts. | 100% | 10/10 pts · 3-year average |
| Liabilities to assets Low debt (< 30% liabilities to assets) = 5 pts · high debt = 0 pts. | 0% | 35% · 0/5 pts |
Financial Efficiency
How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.
50/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Program expense ratio ≥ 75% on charitable activities = 10 pts · 60–75% = 5 pts · below 60% = 0 pts. | 50% | 70% · 5/10 pts (3-year average) |
| Fundraising efficiency Spends ≤ £0.20 to raise £1 = 10 pts · £0.21–£0.35 = 5 pts · above £0.35 = 0 pts (fundraising cost ÷ income). | 50% | 31p per £1 income · 5/10 pts (3-year average) |
Community Support
Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.
100/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Volunteer-to-staff ratio More volunteers than paid staff = 10 pts · equal mix = 5 pts · no volunteers = 0 pts. | 100% | 200 volunteers / 27 staff · 10/10 pts |
Clarity Score
67/100 total · Needs improvement · 2 of 4 stars
Four pillars (40 + 30 + 20 + 10 points) from Charity Commission filings — see methodology for full weightings.
Accountability & Transparency
Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.
75/100
Financial Health
Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.
57/100
Financial Efficiency
How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.
50/100
Community Support
Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.
100/100
Revenue & expenses
Latest filed year 2021 · Source: Charity Commission annual accounts
| Category | Amount | % of spend |
|---|---|---|
| Total income | £912k | — |
| Total expenditure | £854k | — |
| Charitable activities | £773k | 90% |
| Fundraising | £82k | 10% |
Where the money goes
Latest accounts (2021) · £854k spent
- Charitable activities90% · £773k
- Fundraising10% · £82k
Trust indicators
Pulled from the Charity Commission register — filing behaviour, board size, and workforce where reported.
-
Accounts filed on time
Filing status: late
-
Trustee board size (3–12)
11 trustees on the Charity Commission register
-
Workforce on register
27 employees · 200 volunteers (7:1 volunteer-to-staff)
Fundraising Regulator
Status not yet checked
Separate from our financial scores — shows whether the charity follows the Code of Fundraising Practice.
Check Fundraising Regulator →Official register
Reg 1189287
Full trustee list, accounts, and regulatory history on the Charity Commission.
View on Charity Commission →Trustees & officers
- Simon To since 2022
- Lewys Thomas since 2024
- Matthew Copeman since 2024
- Gemma Louise Donaldson since 2024
- Augustin Denis Chair · since 2025
- Olivia Ledger since 2025
- Jessica Asiedu-Kwatchey since 2025
- Melanie Benedict since 2025
- Prof Demetrius Andreas Floudas since 2024
- Nowsha Farha since 2025
- Bassil Alaeddin since 2025
How we score charities +
The Clarity Score is a 100-point rating from UK Charity Commission data. Four pillars — Accountability & Transparency (40), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10). A statutory inquiry sets the score to 0 automatically.
Accountability & Transparency
Scored from filings
40 points — filing history (15), trustee oversight (15), declared policies (10).
Financial Health
Scored from filings
30 points — reserves (15), income stability (10), liabilities to assets (5).
Financial Efficiency
Scored from filings
20 points — program expense ratio (10), fundraising efficiency (10). Kept at 20% to avoid punishing legitimate infrastructure costs.
Community Support
Scored from filings
10 points — volunteer-to-staff ratio from Charity Commission workforce data.
Overall score
Sum of all pillar points. Translated to stars: 90–100 Exceptional (4★), 75–89 Good (3★), 60–74 Needs improvement (2★), below 60 Poor (1★).
Five-year trends
- Income
- Spending
- Cause spend
Values in £ thousands · Source: Charity Commission accounts
Key facts
- Overall score
- 67/100 (2★)
- Income
- £912k
- Cause spend
- 70% of expenditure
- Reg number
- 1189287
- Scope
- UK-wide
- Reserves
- 2 months
- Trustees
- 11
- Accounts year
- 2021
- Filing
- late
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Red flags
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.
What is CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION's charity rating? +
CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION scores 67 out of 100 on CharityCompare (2 stars — Needs improvement). The Clarity Score V1 sums four pillars from Charity Commission filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 pts), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10).
Is CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION a good charity to donate to? +
CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION scores 67 out of 100 (2 stars — Needs improvement) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its Charity Commission filings. Around 70% of its spending goes to charitable activities and its accounts are late. 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.
Is CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION a legitimate UK charity? +
Yes — CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales under registration number 1189287. You can verify the entry on the official register.
What is CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION's Charity Commission registration number? +
CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION's registration number is 1189287. Official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/1189287
How much income does CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION receive? +
CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION reported £912k total income in its 2021 accounts, based on Charity Commission filings. Five-year trend: declining.
What percentage of CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION's spending goes to charitable activities? +
Approximately 70% of total expenditure went to charitable activities in the latest filed year. Fundraising was 30% and combined overhead (fundraising plus governance) was 33%.
Are CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION's accounts up to date? +
Filing status: late (last filing 2026-06-24 00:00:00.0000000). CharityCompare flags late or missing accounts separately from the financial score.
Where is CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION based? +
CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION is listed at Cambridge · UK-wide · CB2 1RU and operates UK-wide, focused on children & youth.
How does CharityCompare score CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION? +
We analyse Charity Commission annual accounts using three-year averages for program expense, fundraising efficiency, and overhead; working capital from reserves vs average expenditure; liabilities-to-assets from the latest balance sheet when available. Impact, leadership, and culture beacons are not yet assessed from public data alone. See our methodology for weights and thresholds.
Does CharityCompare recommend donating to CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION? +
No. CharityCompare provides independent scores and facts from official filings. We do not tell you where to donate or earn commission from charities.
How can I compare CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION with other charities? +
Use our free compare tool to put CAMBRIDGE STUDENTS' UNION side-by-side with other UK charities on scores, finances, and filing status.