Education · Reg 1191397
Public Interest News Foundation
Charity rating & review
59/100 Clarity Score · 2 stars · Charity Commission filings · How we score
Clarity score
Poor
Quick answer
Is Public Interest News Foundation a good charity?
Public Interest News Foundation scores 59/100 (2 stars, Poor) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, calculated from its UK regulator filings. Its latest accounts year is 2025 (£613k total income, 99% 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.
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How can you give to PUBLIC INTEREST NEWS FOUNDATION?
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What does Public Interest News Foundation do?
Public Interest News Foundation is a registered charity (no. 1191397) working in education across the United Kingdom. Its latest Charity Commission filing directs 99% of spending to charitable activities, holding roughly 0 months of reserves, though its recent accounts were filed late. Reported income has been growing (≈49% 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 — Public Interest News Foundation hasn't added its own description yet. Work here? Add it free →
In short: PUBLIC INTEREST NEWS FOUNDATION scores 59 out of 100 (2 stars). 99% average program spend (Latest year, disclosed years only). Review the pillar breakdown below.
What is Public Interest News Foundation?
Public Interest News Foundation has a Clarity Score of 59 out of 100 on CharityCompare (2 stars, Poor). Charity Commission registration number 1191397. Status: Registered. Primary cause area: Education. Latest accounts year 2025: total income £613k, with 99% of expenditure on charitable activities. Accounts filing: late. Reserves: approximately 0 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
59/100
2★ · Poor
Cause spend
99%
latest year · charitable activities
Accountability
63/100
Finance beacon
Income
£613k
Latest year 2025
Reserves
0 mo
Months of running costs
Accounts filing
Late
Check register
£289.9 raised per £1 fundraising (latest year) · 0% overhead · Website on register · Confidence: medium
How does PUBLIC INTEREST NEWS FOUNDATION compare?
Clarity Score percentile against similar UK charities — the share of peers PUBLIC INTEREST NEWS FOUNDATION scores higher than.
Scores higher than 10% of 2,187 charities in its income band · 59/100 vs 79 peer average (marker).
Scores higher than 15% of 579 charities in this cause · 59/100 vs 74 peer average (marker).
How reliable is Public Interest News Foundation's data?
- Source
- Charity Commission (England & Wales)
- Accounts year
- 2025
- Filing date
- Profile reviewed
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, Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. Open Government Licence v3.0 .
What is Public Interest News Foundation'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.
63/100
| 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. | 0% | 0/15 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.
43/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Reserves (months of cash) 3–24 months = full marks, tapering on both sides · 0 months or 4+ years (hoarding) = 0 pts. | 0% | 0 months · 0/15 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. | 60% | 23% · 3/5 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% | 99% · 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.
10/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Volunteer-to-staff ratio Volunteers at 2x staff or more = full marks · no volunteers = 0 pts, scaled between. | 10% | 1 volunteers / 4 staff · 1/10 pts |
What is Public Interest News Foundation's Clarity Score?
59/100 total · Poor · 2 of 5 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.
63/100
Financial Health
Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.
43/100
Financial Efficiency
How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.
100/100
Community Support
Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.
10/100
How much does Public Interest News Foundation raise and spend?
Latest filed year 2025 · Source: Charity Commission filings
| Category | Amount | % of spend |
|---|---|---|
| Total income | £613k | — |
| Total expenditure | £719k | — |
| Charitable activities | £714k | 99% |
| Fundraising | £5k | 1% |
Where does the money go?
Latest accounts (2025) · £719k spent
- Charitable activities99% · £714k
- Fundraising1% · £5k
What trust indicators does Public Interest News Foundation 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
-
Workforce on register
4 employees · 1 volunteers (0:1 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 1191397
Full trustee list, accounts, and regulatory history on the Charity Commission.
View on Charity Commission →Trustees & officers
- Joan Hannah Oluwayemisi Adetunji since 2020
- Isabelle Roughol since 2020
- Julius Weinberg Chair · since 2020
- Polly Elizabeth Curtis since 2022
- Alison Sarah Gow since 2023
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.
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 Public Interest News Foundation'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 Public Interest News Foundation?
- Overall score
- 59/100 (2★)
- Income
- £613k
- Cause spend
- 99% of expenditure
- Reg number
- 1191397
- Scope
- UK-wide
- Reserves
- 0 months
- Trustees
- 5
- Accounts year
- 2025
- Filing
- late
How does PUBLIC INTEREST NEWS FOUNDATION compare, and where else can you look?
Where PUBLIC INTEREST NEWS FOUNDATION sits
The causes this charity is classified under, and other charities working nearby.
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Top-rated peers by CharityCompare score
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How can you share Public Interest News Foundation's rating?
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How do you add Public Interest News Foundation's rating to your site?
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What red flags does Public Interest News Foundation have?
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about Public Interest News Foundation's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.
Is Public Interest News Foundation a good charity? +
Public Interest News Foundation scores 59 out of 100 (2 stars — Poor) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its UK regulator filings. Around 99% 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 Public Interest News Foundation a legitimate charity? +
Yes — Public Interest News Foundation is a legitimate registered charity (charity number 1191397). Verify it on the official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/1191397. Registration proves status; Clarity Score then summarises filing transparency on paper, not programme impact.
What is Public Interest News Foundation's charity number? +
Public Interest News Foundation's charity number is 1191397. 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 Public Interest News Foundation's charity rating? +
Public Interest News Foundation scores 59 out of 100 on CharityCompare (2 stars — Poor). 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 Public Interest News Foundation have reviews and complaints? +
CharityCompare does not host public user reviews for Public Interest News Foundation. Instead you get a filing-based Clarity Score, cause spend, reserves and red flags such as late accounts (2 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 Public Interest News Foundation? +
According to its 2025 regulator filing, 99% of Public Interest News Foundation's total spending went to charitable activities. 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 Public Interest News Foundation's overheads? +
According to its 2025 regulator filing, fundraising costs were about 1% of total expenditure and combined overheads (fundraising plus governance) were about 0% of total expenditure at Public Interest News Foundation. The filings CharityCompare uses do not publish CEO or senior-staff pay, so we cannot say what Public Interest News Foundation'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 Public Interest News Foundation receive? +
Public Interest News Foundation reported £613k total income in its 2025 accounts, based on UK regulator filings. Five-year trend: growing.
Are Public Interest News Foundation'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 Public Interest News Foundation based? +
Public Interest News Foundation is listed at United Kingdom and operates UK-wide, focused on education.
How does CharityCompare score Public Interest News Foundation? +
We calculate a Clarity Score of 0–100 from four pillars in Public Interest News Foundation'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 Public Interest News Foundation'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.