Environment · Reg 1107144
The Rivers Trust
Charity rating & review
67/100 Clarity Score · 3 stars · Charity Commission filings · How we score
Clarity score
Needs improvement
Quick answer
Is The Rivers Trust a good charity?
The Rivers Trust scores 67/100 (3 stars, Needs improvement) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, calculated from its UK regulator filings. Its latest accounts year is 2024 (£8.8m total income, 90% 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 RIVERS TRUST?
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What does The Rivers Trust do?
The Rivers Trust is a registered charity (no. 1107144) working in environment across the United Kingdom. Its latest Charity Commission filing directs 90% of spending to charitable activities, holding roughly 2 months of reserves, though its recent accounts were filed late. Reported income has been growing (≈22% 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 Rivers Trust hasn't added its own description yet. Work here? Add it free →
In short: THE RIVERS TRUST scores 67 out of 100 (3 stars). 90% average program spend (3-year average). Review the pillar breakdown below.
What is The Rivers Trust?
The Rivers Trust has a Clarity Score of 67 out of 100 on CharityCompare (3 stars, Needs improvement). Charity Commission registration number 1107144. Status: Registered. Primary cause area: Environment. Latest accounts year 2024: total income £8.8m, with 90% of expenditure on charitable activities. Accounts filing: late. Reserves: approximately 2 months 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
67/100
3★ · Needs improvement
Cause spend
90%
3-yr avg · charitable activities
Accountability
68/100
Finance beacon
Income
£8.8m
Latest year 2024
Reserves
2 mo
Months of running costs
Accounts filing
Late
Check register
Fundraising efficiency not stated · 1% overhead · Website on register · Confidence: medium
How does THE RIVERS TRUST compare?
Clarity Score percentile against similar UK charities — the share of peers THE RIVERS TRUST scores higher than.
Scores higher than 19% of 619 charities in its income band · 67/100 vs 78 peer average (marker).
Scores higher than 26% of 460 charities in this cause · 67/100 vs 76 peer average (marker).
How reliable is The Rivers Trust's data?
- Source
- Charity Commission (England & Wales)
- Accounts year
- 2024
- 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 The Rivers 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
| 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. | 33% | 5/15 pts |
| Trustee oversight Three or more trustees on the register = 15 pts, scaled down for fewer (governance red flag below three). | 100% | 11 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.
67/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Reserves (months of cash) 3–24 months = full marks, tapering on both sides · 0 months or 4+ years (hoarding) = 0 pts. | 67% | 2 months · 10/15 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. | 0% | 80% · 0/5 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% | 90% · 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.
0/100
| 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 |
What is The Rivers Trust's Clarity Score?
67/100 total · Needs improvement · 3 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.
68/100
Financial Health
Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.
67/100
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.
0/100
How much does The Rivers Trust raise and spend?
Latest filed year 2024 · Source: Charity Commission filings
| Category | Amount | % of spend |
|---|---|---|
| Total income | £8.8m | — |
| Total expenditure | £8.6m | — |
| Charitable activities | £7.4m | 86% |
| Governance & admin | £126k | 1% |
Where does the money go?
Latest accounts (2024) · £8.6m spent
- Charitable activities86% · £7.4m
- Governance1% · £126k
- Other spending12% · £1.1m
What trust indicators does The Rivers Trust 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)
11 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 1107144
Full trustee list, accounts, and regulatory history on the Charity Commission.
View on Charity Commission →Trustees & officers
- Jack William Arthur Spees since 2017
- Joanne Harrison since 2019
- Alastair William Muirhead since 2019
- Dr Bella Davies since 2020
- GRAHAM THOMAS Chair · since 2020
- Elizabeth Susan Passey since 2022
- Bernadette Ann O'Hanrahan since 2023
- Jodie Alice Mills since 2023
- David Michael Turley since 2025
- Michael Paul Fedosiuk since 2025
- Fayza Benlamkadem 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.
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 Rivers Trust'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 Rivers Trust?
- Overall score
- 67/100 (3★)
- Income
- £8.8m
- Cause spend
- 90% of expenditure
- Reg number
- 1107144
- Scope
- UK-wide
- Reserves
- 2 months
- Trustees
- 11
- Accounts year
- 2024
- Filing
- late
How does THE RIVERS TRUST compare, and where else can you look?
Where THE RIVERS TRUST sits
The causes this charity is classified under, and other charities working nearby.
Similar environment charities
Top-rated peers by CharityCompare score
- ESSEX AND SUFFOLK RIVERS TRUST 100/100 · £963k
- GREAT WESTERN SOCIETY LIMITED 99/100 · £3.9m
- THE MID-NORFOLK RAILWAY PRESERVATION TRUST 99/100 · £2.5m
- THE SHARPHAM TRUST 99/100 · £2.2m
How can you share The Rivers Trust's rating?
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How do you add The Rivers Trust's rating to your site?
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What red flags does The Rivers Trust have?
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about The Rivers Trust's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.
Is The Rivers Trust a good charity? +
The Rivers Trust scores 67 out of 100 (3 stars — Needs improvement) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its UK regulator filings. Around 90% 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 The Rivers Trust a legitimate charity? +
Yes — The Rivers Trust is a legitimate registered charity (charity number 1107144). Verify it on the official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/1107144. Registration proves status; Clarity Score then summarises filing transparency on paper, not programme impact.
What is The Rivers Trust's charity number? +
The Rivers Trust's charity number is 1107144. 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 Rivers Trust's charity rating? +
The Rivers Trust scores 67 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 The Rivers Trust have reviews and complaints? +
CharityCompare does not host public user reviews for The Rivers 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 The Rivers Trust? +
According to its 2024 regulator filing, 90% of The Rivers 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 The Rivers Trust's overheads? +
According to its 2024 regulator filing, combined overheads (fundraising plus governance) were about 1% of total expenditure at The Rivers Trust. The filings CharityCompare uses do not publish CEO or senior-staff pay, so we cannot say what The Rivers 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 The Rivers Trust receive? +
The Rivers Trust reported £8.8m total income in its 2024 accounts, based on UK regulator filings. Five-year trend: growing.
Are The Rivers Trust'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 The Rivers Trust based? +
The Rivers Trust is listed at Plymouth · UK-wide · PL17 8PH and operates UK-wide, focused on environment.
How does CharityCompare score The Rivers Trust? +
We calculate a Clarity Score of 0–100 from four pillars in The Rivers 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 The Rivers 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.