Donor guides
How to check a charity before you give
18 plain-English guides on verifying UK charities, reading their accounts, giving tax-efficiently, and what to do when something looks wrong. No jargon, and no donation advice — just what the filings show and how to read them.
Quick answer
Before you give
Verify a charity is real, well run, and the right fit for what you want your money to do.
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The CharityCompare donor guide
Verify the charity number, match the delivery model to what you want funded, then use the four Clarity Score pillars from UK regulator filings — not a single overhead ratio — before you give.
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How to check a charity is legitimate
Verify a UK charity by finding its registration number, checking it on the official register, confirming its accounts are filed on time, and matching the contact details on its own website.
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How to check a charity number UK — verify a charity is legit
Every registered UK charity has a regulator number. Check it on the Charity Commission, OSCR or CCNI register — or search name and number on CharityCompare — before you donate or give to a doorstep collector. Registration proves legitimacy of status, not programme impact; Clarity Score then summarises filing transparency on rated profiles.
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How to compare charities in the UK
Charity comparisons work when you match like with like — same cause, similar delivery model — then check legitimacy, cause spend, reserves, fundraising costs and filing record from Charity Commission accounts. Use Clarity Score to rule out weak administration, not as a measure of impact. Put up to four charities side by side on CharityCompare before you give.
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How to choose between two similar charities
Compare charities on delivery model and scale first, then use filings to check resilience and administration. A smaller charity often does more with your £50 than a national one; a national one may be better placed for research or campaigning.
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Compare cancer charities UK — which is best to donate to?
There is no single best cancer charity to donate to in the UK. Decide whether you want research, patient support, or a specialist disease fund, then compare Clarity Scores, cause spend and filing record side by side. Start with Macmillan vs Cancer Research UK if you are torn between the two household names.
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Funeral donations & donate instead of flowers UK
Funeral and in-memory gifts are still donations to registered charities. Name the charity clearly, check its charity number, prefer the official donate page or a reputable funeral-director channel, and add Gift Aid if the donor pays UK tax.
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Compare animal charities UK — which is best to donate to?
There is no single best animal charity to donate to in the UK. Decide whether you want rehoming, enforcement and prosecutions, wildlife, or farmed-animal campaigning, then compare Clarity Scores and cause spend side by side. For the classic brand choice, start with RSPCA vs Battersea.
Reading the numbers
What charity accounts actually show — cause spend, overheads, reserves and trends.
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How to read charity accounts
You do not need to be an accountant. Check charitable-activities spend, fundraising cost, reserves in months, and whether the latest accounts were filed on time — then read the trustees’ report for the story behind the numbers.
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How much of my donation goes to the cause? Charity admin costs UK
Most well-run UK charities spend roughly 70–90% of expenditure on charitable activities (cause spend). The rest funds fundraising and running costs. Very low overhead can mean underinvestment, not efficiency. On CharityCompare, compare cause spend side by side — Clarity Score caps financial efficiency at 20 of 100 points so ratios cannot dominate.
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Charity CEO pay UK — how to compare senior salaries fairly
UK charities disclose staff pay bands over £60,000 in their accounts. There is no single "fair" CEO salary — judge pay against scale, complexity and explanation in the trustees' report. CharityCompare surfaces filing-based scores; it does not rank charities by how little they pay leaders.
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Charity reserves explained
Reserves are the free funds a charity could spend if income stopped. Three to twenty-four months of running costs is a common healthy range — below that is fragile, far above it needs explaining.
Tax and giving
Gift Aid, higher-rate relief, Payroll Giving and legacies — make the same donation worth more.
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What is Gift Aid?
Gift Aid lets an eligible UK charity claim an extra 25p per £1 you donate if you have paid enough Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax — it costs you nothing extra, but you must opt in and stay eligible.
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How to give tax-efficiently in the UK
Gift Aid adds 25p per £1 at no cost to you. Higher and additional-rate taxpayers can reclaim more through Self Assessment, and Payroll Giving, share gifts and legacies each carry their own reliefs.
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Payroll Giving UK — Give As You Earn explained for donors & employers
Payroll Giving takes donations from gross pay before tax — relief is instant. Gift Aid tops up net donations by 25% for the charity. Compare both with our free calculator, then verify the charity’s Clarity Score and charity number before you set up a deduction.
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Zakat and faith giving UK — calculate, verify, give with clarity
Calculate Zakat with today’s silver nisab (you enter the price — we never bake in a stale figure), then give to organisations you have verified as registered charities. Clarity Score rates filing transparency, not religious eligibility.
Problems and reporting
Spotting fake appeals, and who to contact when something looks wrong.
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How to spot charity scams and fake appeals
Charity scams rely on urgency and familiarity. Verify the registration number independently, refuse pressure, never pay by transfer to a personal account, and always donate through the charity's own website.
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How to report a concern about a charity
Report serious harm or misuse of funds to the charity's regulator, fundraising complaints to the Fundraising Regulator, and fraud to Action Fraud. Complain to the charity's trustees first for service issues.
Common questions from donors
How do I check a charity before donating?
Find the charity’s registration number, look it up on the official regulator’s register, confirm its accounts are filed on time, then check how much of its spending goes to charitable activities and how many months of reserves it holds. Our guide to checking a charity is legitimate walks through each step.
What percentage of a charity donation goes to the cause?
Most well-run UK charities spend roughly 70–90% of total expenditure on charitable activities, with the rest funding fundraising and running costs. There is no single correct figure, and an unusually low overhead claim can signal underinvestment rather than efficiency.
Does Gift Aid cost me anything?
No. Gift Aid lets the charity reclaim basic-rate tax on your donation, adding 25p per £1 at no cost to you, provided you have paid enough UK Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax that year. Higher and additional-rate taxpayers can reclaim more through Self Assessment.
Who do I contact if I am worried about a charity?
Complain to the charity’s trustees first for service issues. Report misuse of funds or serious harm to the charity’s regulator — the Charity Commission, OSCR or CCNI — fundraising conduct to the Fundraising Regulator, and suspected fraud to Action Fraud.
Ready to check a specific charity?
Search any UK registered charity and see its free Clarity Score, beacon breakdown and filing record — all from official regulator data.