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Reaching Higher

Charity rating & review

94/100 Clarity Score · 5 stars · Charity Commission filings · How we score

Verified · Charity Commission data
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94 /100

Clarity score

Exceptional

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Quick answer

Is Reaching Higher a good charity?

Reaching Higher scores 94/100 (5 stars, Exceptional) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, calculated from its UK regulator filings. Its latest accounts year is 2024 (£1.2m 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.

London · UK-wide · SE25 6XX Reg 1137915 Registered charity Official website Charity Commission register

What does Reaching Higher do?

Reaching Higher is a registered charity (no. 1137915) working in poverty relief across the United Kingdom. Its latest Charity Commission filing directs 99% of spending to charitable activities, holding roughly 6 months of reserves, and files its annual accounts on time. Reported income has been growing (≈29% 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 — Reaching Higher hasn't added its own description yet. Work here? Add it free →

In short: REACHING HIGHER scores 94 out of 100 (5 stars). 99% average program spend (3-year average). Filings are up to date with no major concerns.

What is Reaching Higher?

Reaching Higher has a Clarity Score of 94 out of 100 on CharityCompare (5 stars, Exceptional). Charity Commission registration number 1137915. Status: Registered. Primary cause area: Poverty relief. Latest accounts year 2024: total income £1.2m, with 99% of expenditure on charitable activities. Accounts filing: up to date. Reserves: approximately 6 months of operating costs. No major red flags from our filing review. Scores are independent and based on official filings — not a donation recommendation.

Data from Charity Commission register, last updated .

Overall score

94/100

5★ · Exceptional

Cause spend

99%

3-yr avg · charitable activities

Accountability

93/100

Finance beacon

Income

£1.2m

Latest year 2024

Reserves

6 mo

Months of running costs

Accounts filing

On time

Charity Commission

£104.6 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) · 2% overhead · Website on register · Confidence: high

How does REACHING HIGHER compare?

Clarity Score percentile against similar UK charities — the share of peers REACHING HIGHER scores higher than.

Income band (£1m–£5m)93rdpercentile

Scores higher than 93% of 2,776 charities in its income band · 94/100 vs 78 peer average (marker).

Poverty relief charities91stpercentile

Scores higher than 91% of 1,502 charities in this cause · 94/100 vs 78 peer average (marker).

How reliable is Reaching Higher's data?

Source
Charity Commission (England & Wales)
Accounts year
2024
Filing date
Profile reviewed

High confidence — complete filing data

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 Reaching Higher'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.

93/100

Accountability & Transparency metrics for REACHING HIGHER
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.

100% 15/15 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.

70% 7/10 pts

Financial Health

Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.

97/100

Financial Health metrics for REACHING HIGHER
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% 6 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.

80% 8% · 4/5 pts

Financial Efficiency

How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.

100/100

Financial Efficiency metrics for REACHING HIGHER
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% 1p per £1 income · 10/10 pts (3-year average)

Community Support

Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.

80/100

Community Support metrics for REACHING HIGHER
Metric Score Value
Volunteer-to-staff ratio

Volunteers at 2x staff or more = full marks · no volunteers = 0 pts, scaled between.

80% 30 volunteers / 20 staff · 8/10 pts

How we calculate beacon scores →

What is Reaching Higher's Clarity Score?

94/100 total · Exceptional · 5 of 5 stars

Four pillars (40 + 30 + 20 + 10 points) from Charity Commission filings — see methodology for full weightings.

93/100
Accountability & Transparency
97/100
Financial Health
100/100
Financial Efficiency
80/100
Community Support

Accountability & Transparency

Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.

93/100

Filing history (5 years)15/15 pts
Trustee oversight5 trustees · 15/15 pts
Declared policies7/10 pts

Financial Health

Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.

97/100

Reserves (months of cash)6 months · 15/15 pts
Income stability / growth10/10 pts · 3-year average
Liabilities to assets8% · 4/5 pts

Financial Efficiency

How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.

100/100

Program expense ratio99% · 10/10 pts (3-year average)
Fundraising efficiency1p per £1 income · 10/10 pts (3-year average)

Community Support

Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.

80/100

Volunteer-to-staff ratio30 volunteers / 20 staff · 8/10 pts

How much does Reaching Higher raise and spend?

Latest filed year 2024 · Source: Charity Commission filings

REACHING HIGHER revenue and expenses for 2024
Category Amount % of spend
Total income £1.2m
Total expenditure £1.1m
Charitable activities £1.1m 98%
Fundraising £19k 2%
Governance & admin £29k 3%
98%On charitable activities

Where does the money go?

Latest accounts (2024) · £1.1m spent

  • Charitable activities98%
  • Fundraising2%
  • Governance3%

What trust indicators does Reaching Higher have?

Pulled from the Charity Commission register — filing behaviour, board size, and workforce where reported.

  • Accounts filed on time

    up to date · last filing

  • Trustee board size (3–12)

    5 trustees on the Charity Commission register

  • Workforce on register

    20 employees · 30 volunteers (2:1 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 1137915

Full trustee list, accounts, and regulatory history on the Charity Commission.

View on Charity Commission →

Trustees & officers

  • Emma Barlow since 2020
  • Dwayne Gibson-White since 2023
  • TREVOR LLOYD MCCLYMONT Chair · since 2023
  • Robert Alexander Davis since 2024
  • Lara Ann Crew since 2025
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 →

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 Reaching Higher's finances changed over five years?

£0k £400k £800k £1200k £1600k 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Income 2020: £439k Spending 2020: £352k Cause spend 2020: £0k Income 2021: £626k Spending 2021: £450k Cause spend 2021: £443k Income 2022: £781k Spending 2022: £625k Cause spend 2022: £617k Income 2023: £957k Spending 2023: £878k Cause spend 2023: £877k Income 2024: £1,222k Spending 2024: £1,132k Cause spend 2024: £1,113k
  • 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 Reaching Higher?

Overall score
94/100 (5★)
Income
£1.2m
Cause spend
99% of expenditure
Reg number
1137915
Scope
UK-wide
Reserves
6 months
Trustees
5
Accounts year
2024
Filing
up to date

Where REACHING HIGHER sits

The causes this charity is classified under, and other charities working nearby.

Similar poverty relief charities

Top-rated peers by CharityCompare score

How can you share Reaching Higher's rating?

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Frequently asked questions

Common questions about Reaching Higher's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.

Is Reaching Higher a good charity? +

Reaching Higher scores 94 out of 100 (5 stars — Exceptional) 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 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.

Is Reaching Higher a legitimate charity? +

Yes — Reaching Higher is a legitimate registered charity (charity number 1137915). Verify it on the official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/1137915. Registration proves status; Clarity Score then summarises filing transparency on paper, not programme impact.

What is Reaching Higher's charity number? +

Reaching Higher's charity number is 1137915. 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 Reaching Higher's charity rating? +

Reaching Higher scores 94 out of 100 on CharityCompare (5 stars — Exceptional). 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 Reaching Higher have reviews and complaints? +

CharityCompare does not host public user reviews for Reaching Higher. Instead you get a filing-based Clarity Score, cause spend, reserves and red flags such as late accounts. For formal complaints about a charity, contact the Charity Commission, OSCR, CCNI or the Fundraising Regulator as appropriate.

How much of my donation reaches Reaching Higher? +

According to its 2024 regulator filing, 99% of Reaching Higher'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.

What are Reaching Higher's overheads? +

According to its 2024 regulator filing, fundraising costs were about 1% of total expenditure and combined overheads (fundraising plus governance) were about 2% of total expenditure at Reaching Higher. The filings CharityCompare uses do not publish CEO or senior-staff pay, so we cannot say what Reaching Higher'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 Reaching Higher receive? +

Reaching Higher reported £1.2m total income in its 2024 accounts, based on UK regulator filings. Five-year trend: growing.

Are Reaching Higher's accounts up to date? +

Filing status: up to date (last filing 2026-06-24). CharityCompare flags late or missing accounts separately from the financial score.

Where is Reaching Higher based? +

Reaching Higher is listed at London · UK-wide · SE25 6XX and operates UK-wide, focused on poverty relief.

How does CharityCompare score Reaching Higher? +

We calculate a Clarity Score of 0–100 from four pillars in Reaching Higher'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 Reaching Higher'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.