British Heart Foundation vs Stroke Association — charity comparison
In short: The British Heart Foundation focuses on heart and circulatory disease; the Stroke Association on stroke prevention, treatment and life after stroke — related conditions, different jobs for a donation.
Data from Charity Commission register, last updated .
Heart and stroke sit in the same circulatory-health neighbourhood, which is why donors compare these two brands. They are not substitutes. Shop-heavy and research-heavy models also look different on cause spend — read the filings snapshot rather than an overhead slogan. Information only.
Key differences
| What to compare | BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION | STROKE ASSOCIATION |
|---|---|---|
| Primary model | Heart and circulatory disease — research, information and support | Stroke — prevention, support and recovery |
| Condition focus | Heart and circulatory disease in the round | Stroke specifically |
| What “cause spend” can look like | Research plus a large retail network can change the ratio — read the year | Support and prevention programmes — still compare peers, not slogans |
| Best if you want | A major heart-disease research and support charity | A major stroke charity |
What the latest filings show
Figures from the most recent annual accounts on the Charity Commission register. Clarity scores use our methodology.
| Metric | BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION | STROKE ASSOCIATION |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 82/100 (4★) | 86/100 (4★) |
| Accountability & Finance | 100/100 | 100/100 |
| Spend on charitable activities | 36% of expenditure | 79% of expenditure |
| Fundraising efficiency | £10.1 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) | £4.9 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) |
| Latest income | £411m | £44m |
| Fundraising spend | 10% of expenditure | 21% of expenditure |
| Reserves | 3 months | 10 months |
| Accounts filing | On time | On time |
| Data confidence | high | high |
| Charity number | 225971 | 211015 |
BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION on the register · STROKE ASSOCIATION on the register
BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION may suit you if…
- You want to fund heart and circulatory disease research or support
- You already use or recognise BHF information or shops
- You are choosing a national heart charity after reading the filings
STROKE ASSOCIATION may suit you if…
- You want donations aimed at stroke prevention and life after stroke
- You or someone you know has been affected by stroke
- You want a stroke-specific national charity rather than a general heart fund
Common questions
British Heart Foundation vs Stroke Association — which should I donate to?
Neither is universally better. They fund different conditions. Compare Clarity Scores and cause spend, then give to the condition and model you intend — many donors support both over time.
Why might cause spend look low on a shop-heavy health charity?
Retail and trading can sit outside “charitable activities” in the accounts even when shops fund the mission. That is a reason to read the snapshot and trustees’ report, not to treat the lowest ratio as the winner.
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.