Shelter vs Crisis — homelessness charity comparison
In short: Shelter and Crisis are both major homelessness organisations with strong public profiles — compare what each emphasises, then check Clarity Scores and cause spend before you donate.
Data from Charity Commission register, last updated .
Shelter vs Crisis is a common search when donors want to help homelessness but do not want to guess between two familiar names. Read each charity’s stated activities, then use filings and Clarity Score beacons. For local beds and outreach, also compare city-based providers — national brands are not the only option.
Key differences
| What to compare | CENTREPOINT SOHO | CRISIS UK |
|---|---|---|
| Cause area | Homelessness and housing | Homelessness and housing |
| Typical emphasis | Advice, support and campaigning at national scale | National homelessness charity with services and campaigning |
| Local alternative | Also compare city hostels and outreach charities | Also compare city hostels and outreach charities |
| Best if you want | A major national homelessness charity you already recognise as Shelter | A major national homelessness charity you already recognise as Crisis |
What the latest filings show
Figures from the most recent annual accounts on the Charity Commission register. Clarity scores use our methodology.
| Metric | CENTREPOINT SOHO | CRISIS UK |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 76/100 (4★) | 77/100 (4★) |
| Accountability & Finance | 100/100 | 100/100 |
| Spend on charitable activities | 71% of expenditure | 64% of expenditure |
| Fundraising efficiency | £3.8 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) | £3.1 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) |
| Latest income | £63m | £67m |
| Fundraising spend | 29% of expenditure | 32% of expenditure |
| Reserves | 2 months | 2 months |
| Accounts filing | On time | On time |
| Data confidence | high | high |
| Charity number | 292411 | 1082947 |
CENTREPOINT SOHO on the register · CRISIS UK on the register
CENTREPOINT SOHO may suit you if…
- You specifically want to support Shelter’s work
- You want a national homelessness brand with advice/campaigning heritage
CRISIS UK may suit you if…
- You specifically want to support Crisis’s work
- You are choosing between the two household names after reading both profiles
Common questions
Shelter vs Crisis — which is better to donate to?
There is no universal winner. Compare Clarity Scores, cause spend and filing record on CharityCompare, read what each does, and give to the organisation whose work you want to fund.
Should I donate locally instead?
If you want bed nights and outreach in one city, a local homelessness charity may match your intention better. See our national vs local homelessness comparison.
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.