--- title: "Free the Bears UK — charity rating & review | CharityCompare" description: "Is Free the Bears UK a legitimate UK charity? Clarity Score 80/100. Accounts 2024: income £567k · 100% on charitable activities. Reg 1135682." source: https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/free-the-bears-uk retrieved: 2026-08-18T05:01:44.670Z license: "Charity data © Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0" --- Quick answer ## Is Free the Bears UK a good charity? Free the Bears UK scores 80/100 (4 stars, Good) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, calculated from its UK regulator filings. Its latest accounts year is 2024 (£567k total income, 100% of spending on charitable activities). This reflects financial transparency and stewardship on paper — not the real-world impact of its programmes. See the full breakdown. Southend · SS7 5SU | Reg [1135682](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/free-the-bears-uk) | Registered charity | [Official website](https://www.freethebears.org/) | [Charity Commission register](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/1135682) Donate ## How can you give to FREE THE BEARS UK? You leave CharityCompare to complete a donation on the official FREE THE BEARS UK form. We do not process payments or take commission. Opens their official online donation form. [Donate](https://www.freethebears.org/?utm_source=charitycompare&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=donate&utm_content=1135682) ## What does Free the Bears UK do? Free the Bears UK is a registered charity (no. 1135682) working in animals in Southend · SS7 5SU. Its latest Charity Commission filing directs 100% of spending to charitable activities, holding roughly 3 months of reserves, though its recent accounts were filed late. Reported income has been growing (≈15% a year). 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. Summarised from public filings — Free the Bears UK hasn't added its own description yet. [Work here? Add it free →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/claim?charity=free-the-bears-uk) **In short:** FREE THE BEARS UK scores 80 out of 100 (4 stars). 100% average program spend (2-year average, disclosed years only). Review the pillar breakdown below. ## What is Free the Bears UK? Free the Bears UK has a Clarity Score of 80 out of 100 on CharityCompare (4 stars, Good). Charity Commission registration number 1135682. Status: Registered. Primary cause area: Animals. Latest accounts year 2024: total income £567k, with 100% of expenditure on charitable activities. Accounts filing: late. Reserves: approximately 3 months of operating costs. 1 filing concern(s) noted on this profile. Scores are independent and based on official filings — not a donation recommendation. Data from [Charity Commission register](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/), last updated 17 July 2026. Overall score 80/100 4★ · Good Cause spend 100% 2-yr avg · charitable activities Accountability 75/100 Finance beacon Income £567k Latest year 2024 Reserves 3 mo Months of running costs Accounts filing Late Check register Fundraising efficiency not stated · Overhead not disclosed · Website on register · Confidence: medium ## How does FREE THE BEARS UK compare? Clarity Score percentile against similar UK charities — the share of peers FREE THE BEARS UK scores higher than. Income band (£500k–£1m)49thpercentile **Scores higher than 49% of 2,187 charities in its income band** · 80/100 vs 79 peer average (marker). Animals charities51stpercentile **Scores higher than 51% of 370 charities in this cause** · 80/100 vs 78 peer average (marker). ## How reliable is Free the Bears UK's data? Source Charity Commission (England & Wales) Accounts year 2024 Filing date 24 June 2026 Profile reviewed 17 July 2026 Medium confidence — some data missing or late Scores reflect the latest annual accounts on the register. Clarity Score measures how clearly the charity accounts for money in those filings — not programme impact. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources: [Charity Commission for England and Wales](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/), [Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator](https://www.oscr.org.uk/) and [Charity Commission for Northern Ireland](https://www.charitycommissionni.org.uk/). [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/). ## What is Free the Bears UK's Beacon report? Detailed accountability and finance metrics from UK regulator 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, scaled down for fewer (governance red flag below three). | 100% | 5 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. 83/100 | Metric | Score | Value | | --- | --- | --- | | Reserves (months of cash) 3–24 months = full marks, tapering on both sides · 0 months or 4+ years (hoarding) = 0 pts. | 100% | 3 months · 15/15 pts | | Income stability / growth +20% or more over the window = 10 pts · flat = 5 pts · −20% or worse = 0 pts, scaled between. | 100% | 10/10 pts · 3-year average | | Liabilities to assets 0% liabilities-to-assets = 5 pts, scaling down to 0 pts at 60%+ debt. | 0% | Not stated · 0/5 pts | ### Financial Efficiency How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios. 100/100 | Metric | Score | Value | | --- | --- | --- | | Program expense ratio 90%+ on charitable activities = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 50% or below. | 100% | 100% · 10/10 pts (3-year average) | | Fundraising efficiency ≤10p to raise £1 = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 40p or above (fundraising cost ÷ income). | 100% | 0p per £1 income · 10/10 pts (3-year average) | ### Community Support Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff. 50/100 | Metric | Score | Value | | --- | --- | --- | | Volunteer-to-staff ratio Volunteers at 2x staff or more = full marks · no volunteers = 0 pts, scaled between. | 50% | 3 volunteers · 5/10 pts | [How we calculate beacon scores →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/methodology) ## What is Free the Bears UK's Clarity Score? 80/100 total · Good · 4 of 5 stars Four pillars (40 + 30 + 20 + 10 points) from Charity Commission filings — see methodology for full weightings. 75/100 Accountability & Transparency 83/100 Financial Health 100/100 Financial Efficiency 50/100 Community Support ### Accountability & Transparency Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies. 75/100 Filing history (5 years)5/15 pts Trustee oversight5 trustees · 15/15 pts Declared policies10/10 pts ### Financial Health Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts. 83/100 Reserves (months of cash)3 months · 15/15 pts Income stability / growth10/10 pts · 3-year average Liabilities to assetsNot stated · 0/5 pts ### Financial Efficiency How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios. 100/100 Program expense ratio100% · 10/10 pts (3-year average) Fundraising efficiency0p per £1 income · 10/10 pts (3-year average) ### Community Support Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff. 50/100 Volunteer-to-staff ratio3 volunteers · 5/10 pts ## How much does Free the Bears UK raise and spend? Latest filed year 2024 · Source: Charity Commission filings | Category | Amount | % of spend | | --- | --- | --- | | Total income | £567k | — | | Total expenditure | £546k | — | | Charitable activities | £543k | 99% | 99%On charitable activities ## Where does the money go? Latest accounts (2024) · £546k spent - Charitable activities99% · £543k - Other spending1% · £3k ## What trust indicators does Free the Bears UK have? 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) 5 trustees on the Charity Commission register Fundraising Regulator Status not yet checked Separate from our financial scores — shows whether the charity follows the Code of Fundraising Practice. [Check Fundraising Regulator →](https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/members/) Official register Reg 1135682 Full trustee list, accounts, and regulatory history on the Charity Commission. [View on Charity Commission →](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/1135682) ### Trustees & officers - Jon Cracknell Chair · since 2014 - Sarah Jane Moran since 2014 - Matthew Peter Hunt since 2010 - Giles Jason Clark since 2021 - Dr Claudia Hartley since 2020 100 How we score charities +The Clarity Score is a 100-point rating from UK regulator filings (Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR and CCNI). Four pillars — Accountability & Transparency (40), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10) — each scored on a continuous scale, not pass/fail cutoffs. A statutory inquiry sets the score to 0 automatically. [Full methodology →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/methodology) Accountability & Transparency Scored from filings 40 points — filing history (15), trustee oversight (15, scaling up to a board of three or more), declared policies (10). Financial Health Scored from filings 30 points — reserves (15, full marks 3–24 months, tapering on both sides), income stability (10), liabilities to assets (5, scaling down as debt rises). Financial Efficiency Scored from filings 20 points — program expense ratio and fundraising cost, each on a graduated scale (not a single cutoff). Kept at 20% of the total: financial-ratio scoring alone is not a reliable effectiveness signal (see "why not just an overhead ratio?" below). Community Support Scored from filings 10 points — volunteer-to-staff ratio from Charity Commission workforce data, scaling continuously up to a 2:1 ratio. Overall score Sum of all pillar points. Display stars use the same bands as the labels: 90–100 → 5★ Exceptional; 75–89 → 4★ Good; 60–74 → 3★ Needs improvement; 1–59 → 2★ Poor; 0 → not rated. ## How have Free the Bears UK's finances changed over five years? - Income - Spending - Cause spend Values in £ thousands · Cause spend plotted only when the filing discloses a split · Source: Charity Commission accounts ## What are the key facts about Free the Bears UK? Overall score 80/100 (4★) Income £567k Cause spend 100% of expenditure Reg number 1135682 Scope Local (southend) Reserves 3 months Trustees 5 Accounts year 2024 Filing late ## How does FREE THE BEARS UK compare, and where else can you look? [Compare FREE THE BEARS UK with others](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/compare-charities?ids=free-the-bears-uk) [More animals charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/browse/animals) [How we score charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/methodology) ### Where FREE THE BEARS UK sits The causes this charity is classified under, and other charities working nearby. - [animals charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/browse/animals) - [environment charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/browse/environment) - [education charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/browse/education) - [Charities in Southend](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/cities/southend) ### Similar animals charities Top-rated peers by CharityCompare score - [TEES RIVERS CHARITABLE TRUST](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/tees-rivers-charitable-trust) 100/100 · £2.0m - [THE RSPCA DANAHER ANIMAL HOME](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/the-rspca-danaher-animal-home) 100/100 · £1.4m - [GREENACRES RESCUE LIMITED](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/greenacres-rescue-limited) 100/100 · £884k - [GREATWOOD CHARITY LIMITED](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/greatwood-charity-limited) 100/100 · £851k ## How can you share Free the Bears UK's rating? 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Free to use — a lightweight HTML badge or an embeddable score widget, each linking back to this independent profile and our [methodology](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/methodology). BadgeScore widget [♥ CharityCompare Clarity Score 80/100 ★★★★★](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/free-the-bears-uk) Lightweight HTML badge (no iframe) — paste anywhere ♥ CharityCompare Clarity Score 80/100 ★★★★★ Copy code ## What red flags does Free the Bears UK have? ## Frequently asked questions Common questions about Free the Bears UK's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status. Is Free the Bears UK a good charity? + Free the Bears UK scores 80 out of 100 (4 stars — Good) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its UK regulator filings. Around 100% 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 Free the Bears UK a legitimate charity? + Yes — Free the Bears UK is a legitimate registered charity (charity number 1135682). Verify it on the official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/1135682. Registration proves status; Clarity Score then summarises filing transparency on paper, not programme impact. What is Free the Bears UK's charity number? + Free the Bears UK's charity number is 1135682. 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. What is Free the Bears UK's charity rating? + Free the Bears UK scores 80 out of 100 on CharityCompare (4 stars — Good). The Clarity Score V1 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. Does Free the Bears UK have reviews and complaints? + CharityCompare does not host public user reviews for Free the Bears UK. Instead you get a filing-based Clarity Score, cause spend, reserves and red flags such as late accounts (1 filing concern(s) noted on this profile). For formal complaints about a charity, contact the Charity Commission, OSCR, CCNI or the Fundraising Regulator as appropriate. How much of my donation reaches Free the Bears UK? + According to its 2024 regulator filing, 100% of Free the Bears UK's total spending went to charitable activities (2-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. What are Free the Bears UK's overheads? + Free the Bears UK's recent UK regulator filings do not disclose a fundraising or governance cost split, so no official overhead percentage is available. The filings CharityCompare uses do not publish CEO or senior-staff pay, so we cannot say what Free the Bears UK's chief executive is paid — where disclosure rules apply, senior pay appears in the trustees' annual report on the Charity Commission register. How much income does Free the Bears UK receive? + Free the Bears UK reported £567k total income in its 2024 accounts, based on UK regulator filings. Five-year trend: growing. Are Free the Bears UK's accounts up to date? + Filing status: late (last filing 2026-06-24). CharityCompare flags late or missing accounts separately from the financial score. Where is Free the Bears UK based? + Free the Bears UK is listed at Southend · SS7 5SU, focused on animals. How does CharityCompare score Free the Bears UK? + We calculate a Clarity Score of 0–100 from four pillars in Free the Bears UK'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. How often is this page updated? + This profile was last updated on 17 July 2026 from the latest UK regulator data available to CharityCompare, and Free the Bears UK's most recent accounts cover 2024. Scores and figures refresh whenever we re-ingest the register, so the page reflects our latest data pull rather than a one-off review.