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Education · Reg 1073945

The Doreen Bird Foundation

71 /100

Clarity score

Needs improvement

Charity accounts, evidence & financial rating

71/100 Clarity Score · 3 stars · Charity Commission filings · How we score

Register checked 4 October 2026 · latest accounts 2025

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Quick answer

Is The Doreen Bird Foundation a good charity?

The Doreen Bird Foundation scores 71/100 (3 stars, Needs improvement) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, calculated from its UK regulator filings. Its latest accounts year is 2025 (£6.3m total income, 4% cause spend, 3-yr avg). This reflects financial transparency and stewardship on paper — not the real-world impact of its programmes. See the full breakdown.

Income

£6.3m

Accounts 2025-07-31

Spending

£6.0m

Accounts 2025-07-31

Charitable activities

4%

3-yr avg · share of spending

Accounts filing

On time

Charity Commission

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Dartford · DA14 4ED Reg 1073945 Registered charity Official website Charity Commission register

What does The Doreen Bird Foundation do?

The objectives of the charity are:To advance the education of the public in the study of performing arts, dance, drama, singing, music and related subjectsTo promote the development of education in performing artsTo promote the development of facilities for the teaching and performance of performing arts, dance, drama, singing and related subjects

Activities reported by the charity on the official register · extract . This is separate from the accounts data used for its rating.

The Doreen Bird Foundation hasn't added a description directly to CharityCompare yet. Work here? Add it free →

How much does The Doreen Bird Foundation raise and spend?

Accounts period 2024-08-01 to 2025-07-31 · Source: Charity Commission filings

The Doreen Bird Foundation revenue and expenses for 2025
Category Amount % of spend
Total income £6.3m —
Total expenditure £6.0m —
Charitable activities £240k 4%
Fundraising £0 0%
Reported governance £9k 0%

Governance can already be allocated within other expenditure categories. It is not a separate measure of all administration costs; do not add these rows without checking the accounts notes.

What changed in The Doreen Bird Foundation’s latest accounts?

Reported totals for 2025 compared with 2024. Changes can reflect the accounting period, restricted grants or restructuring as well as the charity’s work.

Income change
+3.7%
£6.1m → £6.3m
Spending change
−0.5%
£6.0m → £6.0m
Charitable activities share
+0.2 pp
4% → 4% · percentage points

These are annual figures. The Clarity Score may use averages across several disclosed years. Source: official accounts.

4%On charitable activities

Where does the money go?

Latest accounts (2025) · £6.0m spent

  • Charitable activities4%
  • Governance0%
  • Remaining expenditure96%

From the annual return

What does The Doreen Bird Foundation pay its staff, and where does its money come from?

Answers The Doreen Bird Foundation gave in its annual return to the Charity Commission for the year ending 31 July 2025, plus its register entry. These are the charity's own disclosures, not part of the Clarity Score.

Where does The Doreen Bird Foundation's money come from?

The Doreen Bird Foundation reported £6.3m total income for the year ending 31 July 2025. The largest sources were trading and fundraising events £6.3m (100%), donations and legacies £2,000 (0%), investments £59 (0%).

  • Trading and fundraising events £6.3m · 100%
  • Donations and legacies £2,000 · 0%
  • Investments £59 · 0%

Cash at year end: £1.6m · unrestricted funds: £3.9m · restricted funds: £815k. Restricted funds can only be spent on purposes set by the donor.

Can I claim Gift Aid, and are the trustees paid?

The register records The Doreen Bird Foundation as registered with HMRC for Gift Aid, so a UK taxpayer can usually add 25p to every £1 they give by making a Gift Aid declaration. Work out your Gift Aid

The Doreen Bird Foundation's annual return for the year ending 31 July 2025 reports that one or more trustees received payments or other benefits. Charity law allows this only in limited circumstances; the trustees' annual report should explain it.

Registration details

Registered as a charity
Company number
03636078 (Companies House)
Previous names on the register
The Doreen Bird Foundation Limited
Where it says it operates
Kent

Source: Charity Commission register and annual return data, Open Government Licence v3.0. A blank answer in the return is shown as not reported, never as “no”.

How have The Doreen Bird Foundation's finances changed over five years?

Income rose 3% from £6.2m in 2021 to £6.3m in 2025; spending was £6.0m in 2025.

£0 £2.0m £4.0m £6.0m £8.0m 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Income 2021: £6.2m Spending 2021: £5.6m Cause spend 2021: £186k Income 2022: £5.5m Spending 2022: £5.1m Cause spend 2022: £221k Income 2023: £5.9m Spending 2023: £5.7m Cause spend 2023: £223k Income 2024: £6.1m Spending 2024: £6.0m Cause spend 2024: £231k Income 2025: £6.3m Spending 2025: £6.0m Cause spend 2025: £240k
  • Income
  • Spending
  • Cause spend
The Doreen Bird Foundation income and spending by accounts year
Year Income Spending Charitable activities
2025 £6.3m £6.0m £240k
2024 £6.1m £6.0m £231k
2023 £5.9m £5.7m £223k
2022 £5.5m £5.1m £221k
2021 £6.2m £5.6m £186k

Cause spend is plotted only when the filing discloses a split · Source: Charity Commission filings

Financial context

How do its finances compare with similar charities?

Compare The Doreen Bird Foundation with 39 other education charities in our detailed dataset: the same regulator, £5m–£10m income band and accounts ending in 2025. Each period covers 50–54 weeks. These are reference points, not targets or a ranking of impact.

Swipe across the table to see the peer median and coverage.

Latest annual figures, accounts ending 2025-07-31. Peer medians exclude this charity; the median is the middle value.
MeasureThis charityPeer medianPeer coverage
Annual income £6.3m £6.4m 39 of 39
Annual spending £6.0m £6.6m 39 of 39
Charitable activities share 4.0% 96.9% 38 of 39

The annual spending share can differ from the multi-year average shown elsewhere. Missing disclosures are excluded, never counted as zero. We show a median only with at least ten peer disclosures. Different year-end months, restricted funding and delivery models can still limit comparisons.

How peers are selected Check this charity’s source accounts Choose between similar charities

How does The Doreen Bird Foundation compare?

The share of each group scoring at or below The Doreen Bird Foundation, including tied scores. A group matched on cause, income band and accounts year appears when at least ten records qualify. Broader groups below may mix reporting periods and operating models. Groups include this charity; percentiles measure our financial rating, not impact.

Same cause, income band and accounts year (2025) 45thpercentile

Scores at or above 45% of 40 charities with the same primary cause, income band and latest accounts year · 71/100 vs 73 peer average.

Income band (£5m–£10m) 28thpercentile

Scores at or above 28% of 620 charities in its income band · 71/100 vs 77 peer average.

Education charities 42ndpercentile

Scores at or above 42% of 566 charities in this cause · 71/100 vs 72 peer average.

How does The Doreen Bird Foundation compare, and where else can you look?

Compare The Doreen Bird Foundation with others More education charities How we score charities

Where The Doreen Bird Foundation sits

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

Similar education charities

Top-rated peers by CharityCompare score

Evidence and interpretation

What the evidence says about The Doreen Bird Foundation

In 2025, reported income was £6,323,447 and expenditure was £5,971,323. Income exceeded expenditure by £352,124. This annual balance is not the charity’s available cash or unrestricted reserves.

More financial context

Income rose 3.7% compared with 2024. Read the accounts notes for restricted grants, legacies and one-off receipts before treating the movement as a trend.

Calculated from our dated accounts dataset, refreshed 2026-09-06. This is not an audit or a manual review of every filing. Original register and accounts · How calculations work.

Find the right support

Who it supports and how to access its work

Reported beneficiaries: Children/young People.

How it works: Makes Grants To Individuals; Provides Services.

Use the official contact details to check eligibility, referrals, waiting lists and current service coverage. Broad register classifications and a contact address do not confirm that a particular service is available to you.

Explore source-checked support routes

Classifications supplied to the register; extract 2026-10-04. Register contact and activity details · Website listed for this charity

Look beyond the score

Results and impact evidence

We have not added a source-checked programme outcome for this charity. That is a gap in this profile, not evidence that the charity has no impact. Its annual report may contain results that have not been assessed here.

Reported grants to institutions: £0 (2025-07-31). This is spending reported in the annual return, not a measure of beneficiary outcomes or an open grant opportunity. It may already be included in charitable expenditure. Check the source accounts.

What these results can tell you

Counts of services delivered describe activity. They do not by themselves establish lasting change, what would have happened without the programme, or cost-effectiveness. Results with different definitions, populations or years should not be ranked against each other.

How to judge charity impact evidence

What is The Doreen Bird 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.

93/100

Accountability & Transparency metrics for The Doreen Bird Foundation
Metric Score Value
Filing history (5 years)

No recorded lateness in available history = 15 pts · one late filing = 5 pts · two or more or unknown status = 0 pts. Missing data is not proof of late filing.

 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% 6 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.

80/100

Financial Health metrics for The Doreen Bird Foundation
Metric Score Value
Reserves (months of expenditure)

3–24 months = full marks, tapering on both sides · 0 months or 4+ years = 0 pts. Reserves are not necessarily cash; needs vary by operating model.

 100% 5 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.

 70% 7/10 pts · 3-year average
Liabilities to assets

0% liabilities-to-assets = 5 pts, scaling down to 0 pts at 60%+ debt.

 40% 33% · 2/5 pts

Financial Efficiency

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

50/100

Financial Efficiency metrics for The Doreen Bird Foundation
Metric Score Value
Program expense ratio

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

 0% 4% · 0/10 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, disclosed years)

Community Support

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

0/100

Community Support metrics for The Doreen Bird Foundation
Metric Score Value
Volunteer-to-staff ratio

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

 0% 0 volunteers / 200 staff · 0/10 pts

How we calculate beacon scores →

What trust indicators does The Doreen Bird Foundation 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)

    6 trustees on the Charity Commission register

  • Workforce on register

    200 employees · 0 volunteers (0:1 volunteer-to-staff)

Fundraising Regulator

Not listed as member

Separate from our financial scores. Registration records a commitment to the Code of Fundraising Practice; it does not certify every fundraising activity.

Check Fundraising Regulator →

Official register

Reg 1073945

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

View on Charity Commission →

Trustees & officers

  • Geoff Pine since 2012
  • Sally Joy Atkins since 2015
  • Professor Pippa Poppy Catterall since 2023
  • Lee Dean since 2025
  • Alasdair Evans since 2025
  • Christopher David Costigan since 2025

How reliable is The Doreen Bird Foundation's data?

Source
Charity Commission (England & Wales)
Accounts year
2025
Filing date
Data refreshed

High confidence — complete filing data

Scores reflect the accounts in our dated data extract. The live register may contain newer filings. Clarity Score measures how clearly the charity accounts for money in those filings — not programme impact.

Check the current register entry · Report a data correction

Financial source extract: 2026-09-06. Organisation identifier: 3957296. Method version: 1.1. View method changes.

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 .

Your donation decision

What should you check before donating to The Doreen Bird Foundation?

  1. 1. Match the name and charity number

    Check 1073945 on the official register. A real charity number alone does not prove that a fundraiser or appeal is authentic.

    Verify the registration →

  2. 2. Read the accounts in context

    Our latest accounts data covers 2025. Compare the accounts period, spending and reserves. An administration cost ratio alone cannot tell you how effective a charity is.

    Explore the financial evidence →

  3. 3. Look for evidence of results

    Read the trustees’ annual report for activities, outcomes and limitations. The Clarity Score measures public reporting; it does not establish the impact of a donation.

    How to read charity accounts →

  4. 4. Compare charities serving your cause

    Compare up to four charities, check the dates behind their figures, and decide which work you want to support. Complete your donation through a verified charity channel.

    Start a comparison with The Doreen Bird Foundation →
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 can you share The Doreen Bird Foundation's rating?

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How do you add The Doreen Bird Foundation's rating to your site?

Free to use — a lightweight HTML badge or an embeddable score widget, each linking back to this independent profile and our methodology.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about The Doreen Bird Foundation's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.

Is The Doreen Bird Foundation a good charity? +

The Doreen Bird Foundation scores 71 out of 100 (3 stars — Needs improvement) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its UK regulator filings. Around 4% of its spending goes to charitable activities (3-yr avg) 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 Doreen Bird Foundation a legitimate charity? +

The register data used for this profile lists The Doreen Bird Foundation as a registered charity (charity number 1073945). Verify it on the official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=1073945&subId=0. Check the current entry and the identity of anyone requesting money. Registration does not verify a particular appeal; Clarity Score summarises filing transparency, not programme impact.

What is The Doreen Bird Foundation's charity number? +

The Doreen Bird Foundation's charity number is 1073945. 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 Doreen Bird Foundation's charity rating? +

The Doreen Bird Foundation scores 71 out of 100 on CharityCompare (3 stars — Needs improvement). The Clarity Score (method v1.1) 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 Doreen Bird Foundation have reviews and complaints? +

CharityCompare does not host public user reviews for The Doreen Bird Foundation. Instead you get a filing-based Clarity Score, cause spend, reserves and red flags such as late accounts (none flagged 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 Doreen Bird Foundation? +

Across the recent disclosed accounts used for this score, 4% of The Doreen Bird Foundation'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 Doreen Bird Foundation's overheads? +

Across the recent disclosed accounts used for this score, fundraising costs were about 0% of total expenditure and fundraising plus separately reported governance figures amount to about 0% of expenditure (2023–2025, disclosed years); these categories can overlap, so this is not a distinct total of all administration costs at The Doreen Bird Foundation. The register does not show individual salaries; senior pay is disclosed in the trustees' annual report and accounts.

How much income does The Doreen Bird Foundation receive? +

The Doreen Bird Foundation reported £6.3m total income in its 2025 accounts, based on UK regulator filings. Five-year trend: stable.

Are The Doreen Bird Foundation's accounts up to date? +

Filing status: up to date (last filing 2026-05-12). CharityCompare flags late or missing accounts separately from the financial score.

Where is The Doreen Bird Foundation based? +

The Doreen Bird Foundation's registered contact address is in Dartford (DA14 4ED). It tells the regulator it operates in Kent, with a focus on education.

Where does The Doreen Bird Foundation's money come from? +

The Doreen Bird Foundation reported £6.3m total income for the year ending 31 July 2025. The largest sources were trading and fundraising events £6.3m (100%), donations and legacies £2,000 (0%), investments £59 (0%).

Can I claim Gift Aid on a donation to The Doreen Bird Foundation? +

The register records The Doreen Bird Foundation as registered with HMRC for Gift Aid, so a UK taxpayer can usually add 25p to every £1 they give by making a Gift Aid declaration.

Are The Doreen Bird Foundation's trustees paid? +

The Doreen Bird Foundation's annual return for the year ending 31 July 2025 reports that one or more trustees received payments or other benefits. Charity law allows this only in limited circumstances; the trustees' annual report should explain it.

What was The Doreen Bird Foundation previously called? +

The register lists this previous name for The Doreen Bird Foundation: The Doreen Bird Foundation Limited.

When was The Doreen Bird Foundation registered as a charity? +

The Doreen Bird Foundation was entered on the register on 12 February 1999. It is also a company registered at Companies House (company number 03636078).

How does CharityCompare score The Doreen Bird Foundation? +

We calculate a Clarity Score of 0–100 from four pillars in The Doreen Bird 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 6 September 2026 from the latest UK regulator data available to CharityCompare, and The Doreen Bird 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.