--- title: "Islamic Relief vs Penny Appeal: Key Differences & Ratings" description: "Islamic Relief vs Penny Appeal compared: a federation’s international office vs a UK charity working through partners, with each one’s Zakat cost policy." source: https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/compare/islamic-relief-vs-penny-appeal retrieved: 2026-10-23T11:37:30.783Z 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" --- [IR](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/islamic-relief-worldwide) [ISLAMIC RELIEF WORLDWIDE](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/islamic-relief-worldwide) 93/100 5★ Reg. 328158 compared with [PA](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/penny-appeal) [PENNY APPEAL](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/penny-appeal) 69/100 3★ Reg. 1128341 # Islamic Relief vs Penny Appeal **In short:** Islamic Relief Worldwide runs relief and development from the Islamic Relief federation’s international office and says it has no 100% donation policy. Penny Appeal funds water, food, orphan and emergency work through partners and offers a 100% Zakat policy. Last reviewed 23 October 2026 by CharityCompare editorial. Both collect Zakat for relief work, but describe its costs differently. Islamic Relief says it does not have a 100% donation policy, and its Zakat policy allows it to use up to 12.5% of Zakat for delivery costs. Penny Appeal says it takes no administration or fundraising fees from Zakat, though its partners may deduct up to 12.5%. Their latest reports cover 2025 and 2024. ## Islamic Relief vs Penny Appeal: key differences | What to compare | ISLAMIC RELIEF WORLDWIDE | PENNY APPEAL | | --- | --- | --- | | Registered work and operating model | Emergency relief, development and orphan sponsorship from the Islamic Relief federation’s international office, fundraising in the UK as Islamic Relief UK. | Water, food, orphan care, education, eye care and emergency programmes delivered mainly through partners, plus a UK community kitchen. | | What to consider | It reports 13,132,741 people directly reached in 41 countries in 2025, after allowing for people reached more than once. Its income includes £138 million passed on by independent member offices abroad. | Its 2024 report gives spending but no figure for people reached, and website totals of 50 million and 59.6 million beneficiaries are undated and undefined. Charitable spending fell to £10,260,387 in 2024 from £17,304,511 in 2023. | | Access and practical checks | Its website describes taking 12.5% of Zakat to administer it, and its Zakat policy caps that share at 12.5% and excludes fundraising and governance costs. It currently gives Zakat to Muslims only, a policy it says is under review. | Its 100% Zakat policy takes no Penny Appeal administration or fundraising fees from Zakat, though its disclaimer says partners may deduct up to 12.5%. It takes a small percentage of non-Zakat gifts for administration. | | Sourced result or evidence gap | 13,132,741: People directly reached across its programmes. 2025, 41 countries. A charity-reported output that allows for repeat reach; its programme table lists 100,283 people reached through orphan sponsorship. | No people-reached figure is given in its 2024 report. It reports £10,260,387 of charitable spending in 2024, including £2,785,013 on orphans, and over 41,000 water systems and wells installed since its water programme began. These are inputs and cumulative outputs. | ## 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 | ISLAMIC RELIEF WORLDWIDE | PENNY APPEAL | | --- | --- | --- | | Latest accounts year in our snapshot | 2024 | 2024 | | Financial snapshot refreshed | 2026-09-06 | 2026-09-06 | | Ratio reporting window | 3-yr avg | 3-yr avg | | Overall score | 93/100 (5★) | 69/100 (3★) | | Accountability & Finance | 100/100 | 100/100 | | Spend on charitable activities | 91% of expenditure | 72% of expenditure | | Fundraising efficiency | £14.9 total income per £1 fundraising (2022–2024, disclosed years) | £3.5 total income per £1 fundraising (2022–2024, disclosed years) | | Cost to raise £1 of donations | 8p per £1 (2024) · 7p over 2022–2024 | 28p per £1 (2024) · 30p over 2022–2024 | | Latest income | £276m | £13m | | Fundraising spend | 7% of expenditure | 28% of expenditure | | Reserves | 2 months | 4 months | | Accounts filing | On time | On time | | Data confidence | high | high | | Charity number | 328158 | 1128341 | [ISLAMIC RELIEF WORLDWIDE on the register](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=328158&subId=0) · [PENNY APPEAL on the register](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=1128341&subId=0) ## Considering Islamic Relief Worldwide - You want to give through the Islamic Relief federation’s international office, with programmes in 41 countries. - You are comfortable with up to 12.5% of Zakat covering delivery costs, as its Zakat policy sets out. [Full profile →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/islamic-relief-worldwide) ## Considering Penny Appeal - You want Penny Appeal’s 100% Zakat policy, under which it takes no administration or fundraising fees from Zakat. - You want to sponsor one specific orphan, alone or with seven other donors. [Full profile →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/penny-appeal) ## Islamic Relief vs Penny Appeal: questions answered ### Islamic Relief or Penny Appeal: which should I support? There is no universal winner. Islamic Relief runs relief and development across 41 countries from the federation’s international office; Penny Appeal funds water, food, orphan and emergency programmes through partners. Compare their Zakat policies, check the appeal and the accounts period. A financial rating is not an impact assessment. ### Does Islamic Relief or Penny Appeal have a 100% donation policy? Penny Appeal has a 100% Zakat policy: it says it takes no administration or fundraising fees from Zakat, though its disclaimer says partners may deduct up to 12.5%, and it takes a small percentage of non-Zakat gifts for administration. Islamic Relief says it does not have a 100% donation policy and describes taking 12.5% of Zakat to administer it. ### Who can receive Zakat through each charity? Islamic Relief says it currently gives Zakat to Muslims only, a policy under review, and uses it in the UK and overseas. Penny Appeal says Zakat goes to eligible recipients and to projects it has assessed as Zakat-eligible, and that eligibility can vary, so check the appeal before donating. 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=islamic-relief-worldwide,penny-appeal) [Back to compare](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/compare-charities) **Information only** — not donation advice. We do not tell you where to give. Sources: [Islamic Relief Worldwide: Registered activities, identity and accounts](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=328158&subId=0), [Islamic Relief Worldwide: Annual Report and Financial Statements 2025](https://islamic-relief.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/IRW-AR2025-2.pdf), [Islamic Relief UK: Zakat Policy](https://www.islamic-relief.org.uk/giving/islamic-giving/zakat/zakat-policy/), [Islamic Relief UK: How Islamic Relief spends Zakat donations](https://www.islamic-relief.org.uk/giving/islamic-giving/zakat/how-islamic-relief-spends-zakat-donations/), [Penny Appeal: Registered activities, identity and accounts](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=1128341&subId=0), [Penny Appeal: Annual Report 2024 (filed with the Charity Commission)](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/4040078/accounts-and-annual-returns), [Penny Appeal: 100% Zakat policy page](https://pennyappeal.org/appeal/100-zakat), [Penny Appeal: OrphanKind sponsorship page](https://pennyappeal.org/appeal/orphankind). See also [how we score](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/compare-charities#how-we-score).