FAQs about GuideStar UK

This page provides answers to your questions about Guidestar UK and its funding.

What is GuideStar UK?

GuideStar UK was set up in 2003 to promote the UK's voluntary and community sector by creating a website to provide comprehensive information about UK charities and their activities. 

The organisation was established in response to the 2002 Cabinet Office Strategy Unit Report. The report found that the level of information available to the public on charities was inadequate.

In December 2005, GuideStar UK launched the UK's most comprehensive web-based encyclopaedia of registered charities - bringing together existing information in one place for the first time, displayed in a way that is easy to read and understand.

In September 2007 GuideStar UK merged with another UK charity Civil Society Systems to form GuideStar International - opens new browser window.

Who benefits from the GuideStar UK website?

• People in need have an easy way to find a source of help or support.
• Charities can demonstrate the public benefit they provide and improve their own understanding of the work of other organisations in their field. The site provides smaller charities with a high profile web presence leading to much wider public recognition than they can achieve alone.
• Donors can more easily identify charities working in areas of interest to them.
• Funders can use charity entries on the website to evaluate grant applicants and plan grant programmes.
• Researchers can use GuideStar UK data as the foundation for their research, reducing the need for expensive and time-consuming questionnaires.
• Policy Makers can monitor trends in charitable activity by sector and location or highlight areas of charitable need that are underserved.
• Society generally has increased access to information about the work of charities.

How does the GuideStar UK website differ from the Charity Commission's on-line Public Register of Charities and other charity information websites?

The GuideStar UK website is more comprehensive than any other existing source of information about registered charities. It has been designed to satisfy the needs of a wide range of users. GuideStar UK's powerful search engine allows users to quickly and accurately find what they are looking for among tens of thousands of charities.

In the past it has often been difficult to identify charities serving specific needs and operating in specific locations. GuideStar UK makes it possible for users to search for a charity by keywords and a wide variety of criteria including cause, location and size of charity. GuideStar UK's innovative search engine is interactive - guiding users where to look next. People in need will have an easy way to find a source of help or support.

GuideStar UK also makes it possible to map accurately the charities located and/or operating in a particular location - postcode, ward, parish, district, parliamentary constituency, primary care trust area, district, county, region or country.

Charities can edit and add to their entries on-line. The site provides a free opportunity for charities to explain their work, the public benefit they provide and their recent achievements. The many small charities without a web presence can use their GuideStar UK entry as their own website. Charities will be able to recruit supporters, seek donations, advertise volunteering opportunities and seek support for campaigns. GuideStar UK will provide a prompt to donate and volunteer on the web pages of all 168,000 charities.

GuideStar UK provides an important new resource for researchers and policy analysts. Policy makers are able to monitor trends in charitable activity by sector and location or highlight areas of charitable need that are underserved. GuideStar UK data can be used as the foundation for statistical studies - reducing the need for expensive and time-consuming questionnaires. GuideStar UK will provide invaluable intelligence to all those who advise donors.

In the future GuideStar UK will expand coverage to include charities in Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as excepted and exempt charities, social enterprises and informal voluntary groups. These constituencies fall outside the remit of the Charity Commission.

What is the relationship between GuideStar UK and the Charity Commission?

The Commission provides GuideStar UK with existing public data on charities as well as electronic copies of charities' annual reports and accounts.

The Charity Commission was a partner in GuideStar UK's successful application to HM Treasury's Invest to Save Budget and was represented on the GuideStar UK Project Board that oversaw the initial design stages. A representative of the Commission has attended GuideStar UK Board meetings as an observer.

Do users have to pay to use the GuideStar UK website?

No. The website and access to the database through the website is free. GuideStar UK will be developing some value added information services in the future. These will be sold on subscription to ensure the sustainability of the free public website.

Do charities have to pay to appear on the GuideStar UK website?

No. Charities are not charged to appear on the website. Inclusion in the database is free, as is the facility for updating and changing an entry.

How is GuideStar UK funded?

The exploratory phase of GuideStar UK was funded by a number of UK trusts and supported by the Institute for Philanthropy.

In March 2003, GuideStar UK was awarded a start-up grant of £2.9m over 3 years from the Invest to Save budget, a joint HM Treasury and Cabinet Office initiative which aims to encourage innovation and partnership throughout the public sector. The Charity Commission and the Active Communities Directorate of the Home Office were partners in GuideStar UK's successful application.

GuideStar UK has also received funding from grant making trusts in the UK and the US as well as from the National Lottery. Further information on our supporters can be found here.

Will the free public website be sustainable?

GuideStar UK's long-term sustainability will depend on our demonstrating effectiveness to users and building a range of revenue streams. Although the charities database will always be available through a free website, some value added information services will also be developed.

Will GuideStar UK sell data about charities?

Yes. GuideStar UK will develop a range of additional information services for charities, grant makers and professional advisers which will provide customised access to the database. Data may also be licensed to underpin other initiatives. These revenue generating products will help to ensure the sustainability of the free public website.

Any data licence must be consistent with GuideStar UK's charitable objects - to promote and support the UK's voluntary and community sector.

What is GuideStar UK's relationship with GuideStar in the US?

GuideStar UK was inspired by the established and successful GuideStar charitable information system in the US, www.guidestar.org - opens new browser window.

GuideStar UK is independent of its US counterpart. Knowledge of the GuideStar US experience and methods and the challenges they have faced was invaluable in the evaluation stages of the project.