Hidden gems
Small charities that score big
613 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.
- 613
- 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 — a North East cancer charity that files at 100
A Gateshead cancer-support charity with £554k income and a Clarity Score of 100 — useful when you want a regional alternative to the national cancer brands.
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Oxford Food Hub — surplus food, small accounts, Clarity Score 100
An Oxford surplus-food charity with £547k income and a Clarity Score of 100 — a local poverty-relief model whose 2024 accounts are unusually complete for its size.
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My Life My Choice — an Oxford disability charity that accounts for itself clearly
An Oxford learning-disability charity with £603k income and a Clarity Score of 100 — self-advocacy at a scale national disability brands do not replace.
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Learning Partnerships, Leeds — a small education charity that files clearly
A Leeds education and community charity with £688k income and a Clarity Score of 95 — local enough to miss, and clearer on paper than many household names.
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Somerset Sight — a Taunton sight-loss charity that files at 100
A Taunton sight-loss charity with £576k income and a Clarity Score of 100 — a place-based alternative to national blind and partially sighted brands.
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School in a Bag — a specialist education charity with unusually clear accounts
A Somerset education charity sending school bags overseas, with £600k income and a Clarity Score of 100 — a specialist model whose 2024 filings are easy to check.
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The Ben Kinsella Trust — a London education charity with a 100 Clarity Score
A London education charity working on knife crime, with £596k income and a Clarity Score of 100 — a specialist model next to large children’s brands.
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
THE WHITE EAGLE LODGE
£967k · UK-wide
100/100
ESSEX AND SUFFOLK RIVERS TRUST
£963k · ipswich
Give with confidence
100/100
SWANAGE AND PURBECK DEVELOPMENT TRUST
£944k · bournemouth
Give with confidence
100/100
CAMBRIDGE RAPE CRISIS CENTRE
£916k · UK-wide
Give with confidence
100/100
COUNTIES
£903k · UK-wide
100/100
GREENACRES RESCUE LIMITED
£884k · swansea
Give with confidence
100/100
VOICES IN EXILE
£875k · brighton
Give with confidence
100/100
Kent Neuro Therapy Centre Limited
£858k · canterbury
Give with confidence
100/100
GREATWOOD CHARITY LIMITED
£851k · swindon
Give with confidence
100/100
HACKNEY QUEST
£827k · london
Give with confidence
100/100
BABY BASICS UK
£798k · UK-wide
Give with confidence
100/100
KIDS MATTER
£795k · UK-wide
Give with confidence
100/100
THE DHARMA TRUST
£794k · cambridge
Give with confidence
100/100
SAYAGYI U BA KHIN MEMORIAL TRUST
£791k · swindon
Give with confidence
100/100
CROSSWAY STRATFORD
£788k · london
Give with confidence
100/100
COMMON WEALTH THEATRE LIMITED
£760k · UK-wide
Give with confidence
100/100
WOMANKIND
£731k · UK-wide
Give with confidence
100/100
SPACE4AUTISM
£721k · stockport
Give with confidence
100/100
RSPCA RADCLIFFE SHELTER TRUST
£710k · nottingham
Give with confidence
100/100
OAC BUILDINGS
£705k · sheffield
Give with confidence
100/100
THE PRISON PHOENIX TRUST CIO
£687k · UK-wide
Give with confidence
100/100
Hidden gems by cause
The causes best represented among these 613 charities.
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.