Heritage · Reg 800630
The Design Museum
Charity rating & review
58/100 Clarity Score · 2 stars · Charity Commission filings · How we score
Clarity score
Poor
Quick answer
Is The Design Museum a good charity?
The Design Museum scores 58/100 (2 stars, Poor) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, calculated from its UK regulator filings. Its latest accounts year is 2025 (£17m total income, 64% 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 THE DESIGN MUSEUM?
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What does The Design Museum do?
The Design Museum is a registered charity (no. 800630) working in heritage across the United Kingdom. Its latest Charity Commission filing directs 64% of spending to charitable activities, and files its annual accounts on time. Reported income has been growing (≈14% 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 — The Design Museum hasn't added its own description yet. Work here? Add it free →
In short: THE DESIGN MUSEUM scores 58 out of 100 (2 stars). 64% average program spend (3-year average). Review the pillar breakdown below.
What is The Design Museum?
The Design Museum has a Clarity Score of 58 out of 100 on CharityCompare (2 stars, Poor). Charity Commission registration number 800630. Status: Registered. Primary cause area: Heritage. Latest accounts year 2025: total income £17m, with 64% of expenditure on charitable activities. Accounts filing: up to date. 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
58/100
2★ · Poor
Cause spend
64%
3-yr avg · charitable activities
Accountability
100/100
Finance beacon
Income
£17m
Latest year 2025
Reserves
—
Months of running costs
Accounts filing
On time
Charity Commission
£2.7 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) · 37% overhead · Website on register · Confidence: high
How does THE DESIGN MUSEUM compare?
Clarity Score percentile against similar UK charities — the share of peers THE DESIGN MUSEUM scores higher than.
Scores higher than 8% of 943 charities in its income band · 58/100 vs 77 peer average (marker).
Scores higher than 7% of 151 charities in this cause · 58/100 vs 77 peer average (marker).
How reliable is The Design Museum's data?
- Source
- Charity Commission (England & Wales)
- Accounts year
- 2025
- 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 The Design Museum'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.
100/100
| 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. | 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% | 12 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% | Not stated · 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% | 24% · 3/5 pts |
Financial Efficiency
How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.
20/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Program expense ratio 90%+ on charitable activities = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 50% or below. | 30% | 64% · 3/10 pts (3-year average) |
| Fundraising efficiency ≤10p to raise £1 = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 40p or above (fundraising cost ÷ income). | 10% | 38p per £1 income · 1/10 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% | 37 volunteers / 191 staff · 1/10 pts |
What is The Design Museum's Clarity Score?
58/100 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.
100/100
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.
20/100
Community Support
Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.
10/100
How much does The Design Museum raise and spend?
Latest filed year 2025 · Source: Charity Commission filings
| Category | Amount | % of spend |
|---|---|---|
| Total income | £17m | — |
| Total expenditure | £15m | — |
| Charitable activities | £9.0m | 60% |
| Fundraising | £5.9m | 40% |
| Governance & admin | £124k | 1% |
Where does the money go?
Latest accounts (2025) · £15m spent
- Charitable activities60% · £9.0m
- Fundraising40% · £5.9m
- Governance1% · £124k
What trust indicators does The Design Museum 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)
12 trustees on the Charity Commission register
-
Workforce on register
191 employees · 37 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 800630
Full trustee list, accounts, and regulatory history on the Charity Commission.
View on Charity Commission →Trustees & officers
- SEBASTIAN ORBY CONRAN
- Davina Anne Lore VON MALLINCKRODT since 2017
- Susan Arleen Boster since 2022
- Dahlia Dana since 2022
- Dominic James Field since 2021
- Michelle Ogundehin since 2021
- Eva Magdalena Jiricna since 2022
- Suhair Fariha Khan since 2022
- Jenna Caroline Littler since 2023
- Jonathan David Zenios since 2023
- Stuart Roden Chair · since 2023
- Tomoko Azumi since 2024
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 The Design Museum'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 The Design Museum?
- Overall score
- 58/100 (2★)
- Income
- £17m
- Cause spend
- 64% of expenditure
- Reg number
- 800630
- Scope
- UK-wide
- Reserves
- —
- Trustees
- 12
- Accounts year
- 2025
- Filing
- up to date
How does THE DESIGN MUSEUM compare, and where else can you look?
Where THE DESIGN MUSEUM sits
The causes this charity is classified under, and other charities working nearby.
Similar heritage charities
Top-rated peers by CharityCompare score
- HARTLEBURY CASTLE PRESERVATION TRUST 100/100 · £612k
- ST BARTHOLOMEW'S HERITAGE 99/100 · £5.7m
- JANE AUSTEN'S HOUSE MUSEUM 98/100 · £2.0m
- MILTON KEYNES MUSEUM TRUST LIMITED 98/100 · £763k
How can you share The Design Museum's rating?
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How do you add The Design Museum's rating to your site?
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What red flags does The Design Museum have?
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about The Design Museum's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.
Is The Design Museum a good charity? +
The Design Museum scores 58 out of 100 (2 stars — Poor) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its UK regulator filings. Around 64% 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 The Design Museum a legitimate charity? +
Yes — The Design Museum is a legitimate registered charity (charity number 800630). Verify it on the official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/800630. Registration proves status; Clarity Score then summarises filing transparency on paper, not programme impact.
What is The Design Museum's charity number? +
The Design Museum's charity number is 800630. 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 The Design Museum's charity rating? +
The Design Museum scores 58 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 The Design Museum have reviews and complaints? +
CharityCompare does not host public user reviews for The Design Museum. 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 The Design Museum? +
According to its 2025 regulator filing, 64% of The Design Museum'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 The Design Museum's overheads? +
According to its 2025 regulator filing, fundraising costs were about 35% of total expenditure and combined overheads (fundraising plus governance) were about 37% of total expenditure at The Design Museum. The filings CharityCompare uses do not publish CEO or senior-staff pay, so we cannot say what The Design Museum'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 The Design Museum receive? +
The Design Museum reported £17m total income in its 2025 accounts, based on UK regulator filings. Five-year trend: growing.
Are The Design Museum'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 The Design Museum based? +
The Design Museum is listed at London · UK-wide · W8 6AG and operates UK-wide, focused on heritage.
How does CharityCompare score The Design Museum? +
We calculate a Clarity Score of 0–100 from four pillars in The Design Museum'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 The Design Museum'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.