Hidden gems
Small charities that score big
507 UK charities with under £1m income that still score 90 or more out of 100. Well run on paper, and almost invisible next to the charities that can afford to advertise.
- 507
- Charities qualify
- 90+
- Clarity Score
- <£1m
- Annual income
- £0
- Paid for placement
Quick answer
How this list is chosen
1. Small enough to be overlooked
Annual income under £1m, so the charity almost certainly has no advertising budget and little national profile.
2. Strong on the filings
A Clarity score of 90+ out of 100, built from accounts filed with the Charity Commission, OSCR and CCNI — never from opinion.
3. Nothing bought
No charity can pay to be listed or ranked here. Membership changes how a profile looks, never its score or position.
Written up in detail
Longer pieces on individual charities from this list.
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Fighting All Cancers Together — local support review
Review Fighting All Cancers Together’s cancer-support model, dated financial figures and practical questions about access, support and results.
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Learning Partnerships — Leeds charity review
Review Learning Partnerships’ education and employment work, current accounts and questions about participation, progression and local access.
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My Life My Choice — self-advocacy charity review
Review My Life My Choice’s user-led learning-disability work, current accounts and questions about participation, choice and accessible services.
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Somerset Sight — local sight-loss charity review
Review Somerset Sight’s local sight-loss work, current accounts and questions about access, independence, volunteers and service results.
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The Ben Kinsella Trust — prevention charity review
Review the Ben Kinsella Trust’s knife-crime education model, current accounts and evidence questions about participation, learning and prevention.
Highest-scoring small charities
The top 24 by score, largest first within each score. Every figure comes from published filings — open a profile to see the beacon breakdown and the register entry.
Bristol Refugee Rights
£988k · Bristol
Give with confidence
100/100
The Torch Trust for the Blind
£987k · Leicester
Give with confidence
100/100
Emmaus Transformation Trust
£984k · Guildford
Give with confidence
100/100
Greek Animal Rescue (UK )
£983k · UK-wide
Give with confidence
100/100
The White Eagle Lodge
£967k · UK-wide
100/100
Essex and Suffolk Rivers Trust
£963k · Ipswich
100/100
Halton Carers Centre
£930k · Warrington
Give with confidence
100/100
Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre
£916k · UK-wide
Give with confidence
100/100
Kids Matter
£892k · UK-wide
Give with confidence
100/100
Greenacres Rescue Limited
£884k · Swansea
Give with confidence
100/100
Voices in Exile
£875k · Brighton
Give with confidence
100/100
Doctors Worldwide LTD
£867k · Stockport
100/100
Mercers' Company Housing Association
£861k · London
Give with confidence
100/100
Kent Neuro Therapy Centre Limited
£858k · Canterbury
Give with confidence
100/100
The Sparkle Foundation
£852k · Chelmsford
100/100
Greatwood Charity Limited
£851k · Swindon
Give with confidence
100/100
Hackney Quest
£827k · London
Give with confidence
100/100
The Wey and Arun Canal Trust Limited
£816k · Reigate
Give with confidence
100/100
Baby Basics UK
£798k · UK-wide
100/100
Sayagyi U Ba Khin Memorial Trust
£791k · Swindon
100/100
Crossway Stratford
£788k · London
Give with confidence
100/100
Reaching the Unreached
£773k · Salisbury
Give with confidence
100/100
Back to Jerusalem UK
£772k · UK-wide
Give with confidence
100/100
Common Wealth Theatre Limited
£760k · UK-wide
100/100
Hidden gems by cause
The causes best represented among these 507 charities.
Previously featured
These updated articles are retained for context. The charities are outside the current selection; read their latest figures and the explanation of the change.
Common questions
What is a hidden gem charity?
On CharityCompare a hidden gem is a UK charity with under £1m annual income that still scores 90 or above out of 100 on the Clarity Score. These are charities whose UK regulator filings are complete, punctual and clear, but which have little of the public profile that larger charities enjoy.
Why do small charities get overlooked?
Small charities rarely have fundraising or marketing budgets, so they seldom appear in advertising, national appeals or search results. Their accounts are usually simpler and filed on time, which is why many score highly once the filings are compared on equal terms.
Does a high score mean a small charity is a good place to donate?
A high Clarity score means the charity accounts for its money clearly and files on time. It does not measure the real-world impact of its work, which no regulator filing captures. Treat this list as a shortlist for further reading rather than a recommendation.
Is a donation worth more to a small charity?
Proportionally, yes. A £50 gift is a meaningful share of income for a charity turning over £200,000, while the same amount is a rounding error for a £200m national charity. The trade-off is resilience: smaller charities are more exposed to losing a single grant or key member of staff.
Information only — inclusion here is not a recommendation or an endorsement. It means the filings score well. Read the charity's own annual report before giving.