--- title: "Christian Aid vs Tearfund: Key Differences & Ratings" description: "Christian Aid vs Tearfund compared: an ecumenical agency funding local partners vs a relief agency working with local churches, from 2024/25 reports and scores." source: https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/compare/christian-aid-vs-tearfund retrieved: 2026-10-23T13:11:26.875Z date_note: "Retrieval time is not the filing, register-extract or editorial-review date; cite those dates from the content." license: "Charity data © Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0" --- [CA](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/christian-aid) [CHRISTIAN AID](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/christian-aid) 80/100 4★ Reg. 1105851 compared with [TE](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/tearfund) [TEARFUND](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/tearfund) 81/100 4★ Reg. 265464 # Christian Aid vs Tearfund **In short:** Christian Aid is sponsored by 41 churches across Britain and Ireland and funds local partners to tackle poverty and its causes. Tearfund works with local churches and Christian organisations that agree with its Statement of Faith. Last reviewed 23 October 2026 by CharityCompare editorial. Both are Christian agencies that say they help people regardless of religion, but they choose partners differently. Christian Aid reports 99.5% of its humanitarian projects implemented by local partners. Tearfund partners with churches and Christian organisations that agree with its Statement of Faith, and runs some programmes itself. For the year to March 2025 they report direct reach of 4,153,852 and 3.3 million people. ## Christian Aid vs Tearfund: key differences | What to compare | CHRISTIAN AID | TEARFUND | | --- | --- | --- | | Registered work and operating model | Ecumenical development, humanitarian and campaigning work on poverty and its causes, through local partners. | Christian relief and development through local churches and Christian partners, with some programmes run directly. | | What to consider | Direct reach counts people where it knows who was reached and how they benefited; indirect, policy and media reach are reported separately and should not be added. Christian Aid Ireland is independent, and its funding does not appear in Christian Aid’s income. | Its report does not define “reached directly” and gives different church counts on different pages. Partners must agree with its Statement of Faith; that applies to partner organisations, not to the people helped. | | Access and practical checks | Check the named appeal and country. Grants to partner organisations totalled £28.8 million in 2024/25, so ask which partner delivers the work you fund. | Check the named appeal and country. Tearfund directly runs some programmes in protracted crises where partners are limited, and it is a member of the Disasters Emergency Committee. | | Sourced result or evidence gap | 4,153,852: People reached directly, 57% of them women and girls. Year to 31 March 2025. A charity-reported output limited to people whose involvement and benefit it can identify; a further 12,466,184 were reached indirectly. | 3.3 million: People reached directly through projects. Year to 31 March 2025, against 2.9 million in 2023/24. A charity-reported output with no stated definition; 2.28 million people were reached in humanitarian responses Tearfund funded. | ## What the latest filings show Figures from the accounts held in our dated dataset; the live register may contain newer filings. Ratios can span multiple years, as labelled. Clarity scores use our [methodology](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/methodology). Cost to raise £1 of donations is not part of the score; legacies make it lumpy, and it is withheld where trading costs would distort it ([how it works](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/methodology#cost-to-raise)). | Metric | CHRISTIAN AID | TEARFUND | | --- | --- | --- | | Latest accounts year in our snapshot | 2025 | 2025 | | Financial snapshot refreshed | 2026-09-06 | 2026-09-06 | | Ratio reporting window | 3-yr avg | 3-yr avg | | Overall score | 80/100 (4★) | 81/100 (4★) | | Accountability & Finance | 100/100 | 100/100 | | Spend on charitable activities | 84% of expenditure | 84% of expenditure | | Fundraising efficiency | £6.2 total income per £1 fundraising (2023–2025, disclosed years) | £6.3 total income per £1 fundraising (2023–2025, disclosed years) | | Cost to raise £1 of donations | 27p per £1 (2025) · 23p over 2023–2025 | 14p per £1 (2025) · 16p over 2023–2025 | | Latest income | £71m | £80m | | Fundraising spend | 16% of expenditure | 16% of expenditure | | Reserves | 2 months | 2 months | | Accounts filing | On time | On time | | Data confidence | high | high | | Charity number | 1105851 | 265464 | [CHRISTIAN AID on the register](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=1105851&subId=0) · [TEARFUND on the register](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=265464&subId=0) ## Considering Christian Aid - You want an ecumenical agency backed by many denominations, working on the causes of poverty as well as relief. - You want your gift to go mainly through grants to local partner organisations. [Full profile →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/christian-aid) ## Considering Tearfund - You want to support relief and development delivered with local churches. - You are comfortable that its partners must share its Statement of Faith, while the people it helps need not. [Full profile →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/tearfund) ## Christian Aid vs Tearfund: questions answered ### Christian Aid or Tearfund: which should I support? There is no universal winner. Christian Aid, backed by 41 churches, funds local partners and works with people and organisations of all faiths and beliefs who share its values; Tearfund works with local churches and Christian partners that agree with its Statement of Faith. Choose the approach and programme you prefer, then check the appeal and accounts period. A financial rating is not an impact assessment. ### Do Christian Aid and Tearfund only help Christians? No. Christian Aid’s 2024/25 report says its work benefits people regardless of characteristics including religious belief. Tearfund’s says it and its partners work with people in the greatest need regardless of race, religion and other characteristics. Tearfund does require partner organisations to agree with its Statement of Faith. ### Which churches support Christian Aid? Christian Aid has 41 members, called sponsoring churches, from a range of denominations in Britain and Ireland, including the Church of England. Christian Aid Ireland is an independent organisation, with charitable companies in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. 100 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 →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/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. [Compare these charities side-by-side](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/compare-charities?ids=christian-aid,tearfund) [Back to compare](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/compare-charities) **Information only** — not donation advice. We do not tell you where to give. Sources: [Christian Aid: Registered activities, identity and accounts](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=1105851&subId=0), [Christian Aid: Annual report and accounts 2024/25](https://www.christianaid.org.uk/sites/default/files/2025-11/christian-aid-annual-report-24-25-draft-master-final-signed-formatted.pdf), [Christian Aid: Global Results 2024/25 and reach definitions](https://www.christianaid.org.uk/sites/default/files/2026-01/global-results-report-2024-25.pdf), [Tearfund: Registered activities, identity and accounts](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=265464&subId=0), [Tearfund: Annual Report and Financial Statements 2024/25 (filed with the Charity Commission)](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/265464/accounts-and-annual-returns). See also [how we score](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/compare-charities#how-we-score).