Environment · Reg 222879
The Royal Horticultural Society
Charity rating & review
70/100 Clarity Score · 3 stars · Charity Commission filings · How we score
Clarity score
Needs improvement
Quick answer
Is The Royal Horticultural Society a good charity?
The Royal Horticultural Society scores 70/100 (3 stars, Needs improvement) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, calculated from its UK regulator filings. Its latest accounts year is 2025 (£125m total income, 77% 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.
Donate
How can you give to THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY?
You leave CharityCompare to complete a donation on the official THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY form. We do not process payments or take commission. Opens their official online donation form.
What does The Royal Horticultural Society do?
The Royal Horticultural Society is a registered charity (no. 222879) working in environment across the United Kingdom. Its latest Charity Commission filing directs 77% of spending to charitable activities, and files its annual accounts on time. Reported income has been growing (≈17% 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 Royal Horticultural Society hasn't added its own description yet. Work here? Add it free →
In short: THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY scores 70 out of 100 (3 stars). 77% average program spend (3-year average). Review the pillar breakdown below.
What is The Royal Horticultural Society?
The Royal Horticultural Society has a Clarity Score of 70 out of 100 on CharityCompare (3 stars, Needs improvement). Charity Commission registration number 222879. Status: Registered. Primary cause area: Environment. Latest accounts year 2025: total income £125m, with 77% of expenditure on charitable activities. Accounts filing: up to date. 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
70/100
3★ · Needs improvement
Cause spend
77%
3-yr avg · charitable activities
Accountability
100/100
Finance beacon
Income
£125m
Latest year 2025
Reserves
—
Months of running costs
Accounts filing
On time
Charity Commission
£4.3 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) · 24% overhead · Website on register · Confidence: high
How does THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY compare?
Clarity Score percentile against similar UK charities — the share of peers THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY scores higher than.
Scores higher than 25% of 943 charities in its income band · 70/100 vs 77 peer average (marker).
Scores higher than 33% of 460 charities in this cause · 70/100 vs 76 peer average (marker).
How reliable is The Royal Horticultural Society'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 Royal Horticultural Society'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% | 17 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.
30/100
| 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. | 60% | 6/10 pts · 3-year average |
| Liabilities to assets 0% liabilities-to-assets = 5 pts, scaling down to 0 pts at 60%+ debt. | 60% | 23% · 3/5 pts |
Financial Efficiency
How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.
65/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Program expense ratio 90%+ on charitable activities = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 50% or below. | 70% | 77% · 7/10 pts (3-year average) |
| Fundraising efficiency ≤10p to raise £1 = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 40p or above (fundraising cost ÷ income). | 60% | 23p per £1 income · 6/10 pts (3-year average) |
Community Support
Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.
80/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Volunteer-to-staff ratio Volunteers at 2x staff or more = full marks · no volunteers = 0 pts, scaled between. | 80% | 2,081 volunteers / 1267 staff · 8/10 pts |
What is The Royal Horticultural Society's Clarity Score?
70/100 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.
100/100
Financial Health
Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.
30/100
Financial Efficiency
How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.
65/100
Community Support
Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.
80/100
How much does The Royal Horticultural Society raise and spend?
Latest filed year 2025 · Source: Charity Commission filings
| Category | Amount | % of spend |
|---|---|---|
| Total income | £125m | — |
| Total expenditure | £133m | — |
| Charitable activities | £100m | 75% |
| Fundraising | £32m | 24% |
| Governance & admin | £1.5m | 1% |
Where does the money go?
Latest accounts (2025) · £133m spent
- Charitable activities75% · £100m
- Fundraising24% · £32m
- Governance1% · £1.5m
What trust indicators does The Royal Horticultural Society 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)
17 trustees on the Charity Commission register
-
Workforce on register
1267 employees · 2,081 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 222879
Full trustee list, accounts, and regulatory history on the Charity Commission.
View on Charity Commission →Trustees & officers
- Matthew Philip Lindsey-Clark since 2016
- Kate Lampard since 2017
- Ruth Willmott since 2019
- Nicholas Dunn since 2019
- Keith Charles Frederick Weed CBE Chair · since 2020
- Prof Nicola Spence since 2021
- Pamela Maynard since 2021
- Wesley Albert Kerr since 2021
- Darren Share since 2022
- Anthony Kirkham since 2022
- Tazim Essani since 2022
- Claire Rose Austin since 2023
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 Royal Horticultural Society'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 Royal Horticultural Society?
- Overall score
- 70/100 (3★)
- Income
- £125m
- Cause spend
- 77% of expenditure
- Reg number
- 222879
- Scope
- UK-wide
- Reserves
- —
- Trustees
- 17
- Accounts year
- 2025
- Filing
- up to date
How does THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY compare, and where else can you look?
Where THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 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 Royal Horticultural Society's rating?
Opens a printer-friendly view of this profile for The Royal Horticultural Society.
For this charity
How do you add The Royal Horticultural Society'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 Royal Horticultural Society's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.
Is The Royal Horticultural Society a good charity? +
The Royal Horticultural Society scores 70 out of 100 (3 stars — Needs improvement) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its UK regulator filings. Around 77% 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 Royal Horticultural Society a legitimate charity? +
Yes — The Royal Horticultural Society is a legitimate registered charity (charity number 222879). Verify it on the official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/222879. Registration proves status; Clarity Score then summarises filing transparency on paper, not programme impact.
What is The Royal Horticultural Society's charity number? +
The Royal Horticultural Society's charity number is 222879. 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 Royal Horticultural Society's charity rating? +
The Royal Horticultural Society scores 70 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 Royal Horticultural Society have reviews and complaints? +
CharityCompare does not host public user reviews for The Royal Horticultural Society. 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 The Royal Horticultural Society? +
According to its 2025 regulator filing, 77% of The Royal Horticultural Society'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 Royal Horticultural Society's overheads? +
According to its 2025 regulator filing, fundraising costs were about 23% of total expenditure and combined overheads (fundraising plus governance) were about 24% of total expenditure at The Royal Horticultural Society. The filings CharityCompare uses do not publish CEO or senior-staff pay, so we cannot say what The Royal Horticultural Society'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 Royal Horticultural Society receive? +
The Royal Horticultural Society reported £125m total income in its 2025 accounts, based on UK regulator filings. Five-year trend: growing.
Are The Royal Horticultural Society'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 Royal Horticultural Society based? +
The Royal Horticultural Society is listed at London · UK-wide · SW1P 2PE and operates UK-wide, focused on environment.
How does CharityCompare score The Royal Horticultural Society? +
We calculate a Clarity Score of 0–100 from four pillars in The Royal Horticultural Society'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 Royal Horticultural Society'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.