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Smallwood Trust

Charity rating & review

66/100 Clarity Score · 3 stars · Charity Commission filings · How we score

Verified · Charity Commission data
66 /100

Clarity score

Needs improvement

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Quick answer

Is Smallwood Trust a good charity?

Smallwood Trust scores 66/100 (3 stars, Needs improvement) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, calculated from its UK regulator filings. Its latest accounts year is 2024 (£3.7m total income, 97% 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.

Worcester · UK-wide · WR14 1QQ Reg 205798 Registered charity Official website Charity Commission register

What does Smallwood Trust do?

Smallwood Trust is a registered charity (no. 205798) working in poverty relief across the United Kingdom. Its latest Charity Commission filing directs 97% of spending to charitable activities, holding roughly 1 month of reserves, and files its annual accounts on time. Reported income has been broadly stable 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.

Summarised from public filings — Smallwood Trust hasn't added its own description yet. Work here? Add it free →

In short: SMALLWOOD TRUST scores 66 out of 100 (3 stars). 97% average program spend (3-year average). Review the pillar breakdown below.

What is Smallwood Trust?

Smallwood Trust has a Clarity Score of 66 out of 100 on CharityCompare (3 stars, Needs improvement). Charity Commission registration number 205798. Status: Registered. Primary cause area: Poverty relief. Latest accounts year 2024: total income £3.7m, with 97% of expenditure on charitable activities. Accounts filing: up to date. Reserves: approximately 1 month 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, last updated .

Overall score

66/100

3★ · Needs improvement

Cause spend

97%

3-yr avg · charitable activities

Accountability

68/100

Finance beacon

Income

£3.7m

Latest year 2024

Reserves

1 mo

1 month of running costs

Accounts filing

On time

Charity Commission

£23.1 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) · 4% overhead · Website on register · Confidence: high

How does SMALLWOOD TRUST compare?

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

Income band (£1m–£5m)18thpercentile

Scores higher than 18% of 2,776 charities in its income band · 66/100 vs 78 peer average (marker).

Poverty relief charities18thpercentile

Scores higher than 18% of 1,502 charities in this cause · 66/100 vs 78 peer average (marker).

How reliable is Smallwood Trust'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 Smallwood Trust'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.

68/100

Accountability & Transparency metrics for SMALLWOOD TRUST
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).

33% 1 trustee · 5/15 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.

63/100

Financial Health metrics for SMALLWOOD TRUST
Metric Score Value
Reserves (months of cash)

3–24 months = full marks, tapering on both sides · 0 months or 4+ years (hoarding) = 0 pts.

33% 1 month · 5/15 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% 7% · 4/5 pts

Financial Efficiency

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

100/100

Financial Efficiency metrics for SMALLWOOD TRUST
Metric Score Value
Program expense ratio

90%+ on charitable activities = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 50% or below.

100% 97% · 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% 6p per £1 income · 10/10 pts (3-year average)

Community Support

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

0/100

Community Support metrics for SMALLWOOD TRUST
Metric Score Value
Volunteer-to-staff ratio

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

0% Not reported · 0/10 pts

How we calculate beacon scores →

What is Smallwood Trust's Clarity Score?

66/100 total · Needs improvement · 3 of 5 stars

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

68/100
Accountability & Transparency
63/100
Financial Health
100/100
Financial Efficiency
0/100
Community Support

Accountability & Transparency

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

68/100

Filing history (5 years)15/15 pts
Trustee oversight1 trustee · 5/15 pts
Declared policies7/10 pts

Financial Health

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

63/100

Reserves (months of cash)1 month · 5/15 pts
Income stability / growth10/10 pts · 3-year average
Liabilities to assets7% · 4/5 pts

Financial Efficiency

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

100/100

Program expense ratio97% · 10/10 pts (3-year average)
Fundraising efficiency6p per £1 income · 10/10 pts (3-year average)

Community Support

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

0/100

Volunteer-to-staff ratioNot reported · 0/10 pts

How much does Smallwood Trust raise and spend?

Latest filed year 2024 · Source: Charity Commission filings

SMALLWOOD TRUST revenue and expenses for 2024
Category Amount % of spend
Total income £3.7m
Total expenditure £5.3m
Charitable activities £5.2m 98%
Fundraising £91k 2%
Governance & admin £55k 1%
98%On charitable activities

Where does the money go?

Latest accounts (2024) · £5.3m spent

  • Charitable activities98%
  • Fundraising2%
  • Governance1%

What trust indicators does Smallwood Trust 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)

    1 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 →

Official register

Reg 205798

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

View on Charity Commission →

Trustees & officers

  • Smallwood Trust (Trustee) Limited since 2019
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 Smallwood Trust's finances changed over five years?

£0k £1400k £2800k £4200k £5600k 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Income 2020: £3,730k Spending 2020: £5,140k Cause spend 2020: £5,033k Income 2021: £2,088k Spending 2021: £4,189k Cause spend 2021: £4,079k Income 2022: £1,260k Spending 2022: £3,063k Cause spend 2022: £2,937k Income 2023: £2,071k Spending 2023: £3,871k Cause spend 2023: £3,781k Income 2024: £3,731k Spending 2024: £5,316k Cause spend 2024: £5,225k
  • 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 Smallwood Trust?

Overall score
66/100 (3★)
Income
£3.7m
Cause spend
97% of expenditure
Reg number
205798
Scope
UK-wide
Reserves
1 month
Trustees
1
Accounts year
2024
Filing
up to date

Where SMALLWOOD TRUST sits

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

Similar poverty relief charities

Top-rated peers by CharityCompare score

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What red flags does Smallwood Trust have?

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about Smallwood Trust's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.

Is Smallwood Trust a good charity? +

Smallwood Trust scores 66 out of 100 (3 stars — Needs improvement) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its UK regulator filings. Around 97% 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 Smallwood Trust a legitimate charity? +

Yes — Smallwood Trust is a legitimate registered charity (charity number 205798). Verify it on the official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/205798. Registration proves status; Clarity Score then summarises filing transparency on paper, not programme impact.

What is Smallwood Trust's charity number? +

Smallwood Trust's charity number is 205798. 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 Smallwood Trust's charity rating? +

Smallwood Trust scores 66 out of 100 on CharityCompare (3 stars — Needs improvement). 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 Smallwood Trust have reviews and complaints? +

CharityCompare does not host public user reviews for Smallwood Trust. 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 Smallwood Trust? +

According to its 2024 regulator filing, 97% of Smallwood Trust'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 Smallwood Trust's overheads? +

According to its 2024 regulator filing, fundraising costs were about 3% of total expenditure and combined overheads (fundraising plus governance) were about 4% of total expenditure at Smallwood Trust. The filings CharityCompare uses do not publish CEO or senior-staff pay, so we cannot say what Smallwood Trust'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 Smallwood Trust receive? +

Smallwood Trust reported £3.7m total income in its 2024 accounts, based on UK regulator filings. Five-year trend: stable.

Are Smallwood Trust'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 Smallwood Trust based? +

Smallwood Trust is listed at Worcester · UK-wide · WR14 1QQ and operates UK-wide, focused on poverty relief.

How does CharityCompare score Smallwood Trust? +

We calculate a Clarity Score of 0–100 from four pillars in Smallwood Trust'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 Smallwood Trust'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.