--- title: "Donor guides | CharityCompare" description: "Plain-English donor guides for checking UK charities: verifying registration, reading regulator accounts, admin costs, reserves" source: https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/guides retrieved: 2026-08-18T00:02:51.168Z license: "Charity data © Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0" --- 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 CharityCompare's donor guides explain how to verify a charity is registered, read its UK regulator accounts, judge admin costs and reserves, claim Gift Aid and higher-rate relief, spot fake appeals, and report a concern to the right regulator. Start with how to check a charity is legitimate, then look up any UK charity's free Clarity Score in the directory. ## Before you give Verify a charity is real, well run, and the right fit for what you want your money to do. - [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. Read guide →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/guides/donor-guide) - [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. Read guide →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/guides/how-to-check-a-charity-is-legitimate) - [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. Read guide →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/guides/how-to-check-a-charity-number) - [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. Read guide →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/guides/how-to-compare-charities) - [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. Read guide →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/guides/how-to-choose-between-similar-charities) - [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. Read guide →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/guides/compare-cancer-charities-uk) - [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. Read guide →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/guides/funeral-and-in-memory-donations) - [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. Read guide →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/guides/compare-animal-charities-uk) ## Reading the numbers What charity accounts actually show — cause spend, overheads, reserves and trends. - [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. Read guide →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/guides/how-to-read-accounts) - [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. Read guide →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/guides/charity-admin-costs-explained) - [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. Read guide →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/guides/charity-ceo-pay-uk) - [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. Read guide →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/guides/charity-reserves-explained) ## Tax and giving Gift Aid, higher-rate relief, Payroll Giving and legacies — make the same donation worth more. - [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. Read guide →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/guides/gift-aid-basics) - [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. Read guide →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/guides/tax-efficient-giving-uk) - [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. Read guide →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/guides/payroll-giving-uk) - [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. Read guide →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/guides/zakat-and-faith-giving-uk) ## Problems and reporting Spotting fake appeals, and who to contact when something looks wrong. - [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. Read guide →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/guides/charity-scams-and-fake-appeals) - [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. Read guide →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/guides/how-to-report-a-charity-concern) ## 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. [More donor answers](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/answers) [Charity glossary](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/glossary) ## 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. [Search charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity-directory) [Compare charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/compare-charities)