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How our scoring works

Every charity on CharityWatch UK is given a trust score out of 100. Here's exactly how we calculate it — no black boxes, no hidden criteria.

Our mission

We are an independent watchdog. We do not accept money from charities, we do not allow charities to influence their own scores, and we do not sell advertising. All data comes from official public sources — primarily the UK Charity Commission register. Our job is to help donors make informed decisions about where their money goes.

The score — 4 components, 100 points total

1. Trustees & Governance

25 points

A well-governed charity has multiple trustees — independent people responsible for making sure the charity operates properly. A single trustee with no oversight is a governance red flag.

5 or more trustees25 pts
3–4 trustees20 pts
2 trustees12 pts
1 trustee5 pts
No trustees on record0 pts

2. Financial Health

25 points

We look at what percentage of income is actually spent on charitable work. A charity that hoards money or spends far more than it earns scores lower. The ideal range is 70–95% — spending most income on the mission, with a small reserve.

Spending 70–95% of income (ideal)25 pts
Spending 50–70% of income20 pts
Spending 95–110% of income (slight overspend)18 pts
Has financial data but ratio outside ideal10 pts
No financial data on record0 pts

3. Filing History & Transparency

30 points

Every registered charity must file an annual return with the Charity Commission. Filing late — or not at all — is the single biggest warning sign we look for. We also check whether accounts have ever been qualified (flagged) by auditors.

Years of history (max 15pts)

10+ years of filed returns15 pts
5–9 years10 pts
2–4 years5 pts
1 year2 pts

On-time filing (max 10pts)

Always filed on time10 pts
Late in up to 20% of years7 pts
Late in 20–50% of years3 pts
Late in more than 50% of years0 pts

Penalties

Accounts flagged/qualified by auditors-5 per year

4. Regulatory Standing

10 points

We check the Charity Commission's event history for every charity. If the regulator has ever opened an inquiry, issued a warning, removed a trustee, or taken any formal action — that is reflected in the score.

No regulatory action on record10 pts
Regulatory concern noted-5 pts
Official warning issued-6 pts
Trustee removed by Commission-7 pts
Interim manager appointed-8 pts
Statutory inquiry opened-10 pts

Trust badges

Platinum
85–100 points — Excellent governance, transparent finances, clean regulatory history, long track record.
Verified
70–84 points — Strong across most criteria. A reliable choice for donors.
Good Standing
50–69 points — Solid but with some gaps — limited history, fewer trustees, or minor filing issues.
Needs Review
30–49 points — Multiple gaps or concerns. Donors should research further before giving.
Insufficient Data
0–29 points — Not enough public data to rate this charity reliably.

Red flags

Beyond the score, we surface specific red flags on each charity's profile page. These are concrete issues we found in the data — not opinions.

CriticalRegulatory action by the Charity Commission
HighLate filing in majority of years, spending far exceeding income, auditor-flagged accounts
MediumNo trustees on record
LowNo financial data, no website or contact details

Data sources

All data is sourced from official public records:

  • • Charity Commission for England & Wales — registration, trustee, financial, and event data
  • • Annual returns — filed directly by charities with the regulator
  • • Event history — official regulatory actions recorded by the Commission

Data is updated periodically from the Charity Commission's public data extract. We do not modify or editorialize the underlying data — we only calculate scores from it.

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