FAQs for charities updating their entries

This page provides answers to questions you may have about updating your charity's entry.

General

Making changes

Problems

Password

Where did the information on the website about my charity come from?

We have taken information from documents or reports you filed with the Charity Commission without changing it or commenting on it. We have used the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) as the basis for the information captured and have consulted widely on how best to display this information so that it is useful to all audiences. You can add extra information - and it will appear exactly as you provide it - by clicking on Update my charity at the top right of your charity entry.

Do charities have to pay to be included in the GuideStar UK website?

No. Inclusion in the database is free, as is the facility of updating and changing the entry.

Can my charity opt out of the GuideStar UK website?

No. There is an entry on the GuideStar UK website for every one of the 168,000 registered main charities in England and Wales. It is a comprehensive information source.

We include all registered charities because we believe this is necessary to present an accurate picture of the charity sector to the public. The information we include in our site is in the public domain and it is therefore permissible for us to include it in the site.

We are a small grant making charity - how can we minimise the number of unsolicited applications?

You can add a message to your charity entry setting out what may be funded and what will not. And you can make it clear that you do not accept unsolicited applications. Click on Update my charity at the top right of your charity page and go to the ACTIVITIES section.

We have added the following message to entries of all grant making charities: "Please note that many grant making charities do not accept unsolicited applications. Grant seekers should avoid making inappropriate funding applications which would be a waste of their own time and effort and that of the grant makers to whom they apply. Please read carefully the description of activities and grant making policy if provided before considering whether to contact this charity."

Can I use the GuideStar UK entry as a website for my charity?

Yes. You can easily add information such as your charity's most recent news and achievements into your GuideStar UK entry. When you are in Update my charity you will see your entry is divided into small sections. You can make changes to these sections one at a time and when you click the UPDATE button the change will take immediate effect.

You can also upload a range of documents into your entry, including a newsletter and a press release. If you choose to add your logo, it will appear with your charity name in the first section of your entry.

Will GuideStar UK compare charities?

No. We will not evaluate charities, comment on their performance or compile league tables. We will provide free public access to information about charities as they report it themselves to the Charity Commission or by updating their GuideStar UK entry.

Is there an explanation of the terms used on the GuideStar UK website?

Yes. We have included a list of the terms used throughout the GuideStar UK website. A link to this glossary can be found in each section of your charity entry.

A short explanation of certain headings or links is provided in a 'hover over' that appears when you place your mouse cursor over them.

Are other GuideStar systems being developed?

Following the success of GuideStar in the US and UK and in response to requests from civil society leaders in countries around the world, GuideStar International (GSI) - opens new browser window, a programme of Civil Society Systems was established to support the development of national GuideStar systems worldwide. GSI seeks to illuminate the work of every civil society organization (CSO) in the world. These nationally governed and operated GuideStar systems will provide a highly searchable and comprehensive catalogue of reports on a country's CSOs, enabling them to communicate their work effectively and easily to national and international audiences. For more information visit www.guidestarinternational.org - opens new browser window or contact info@guidestarinternational.org - opens new window.

Can I edit or add to the information held about my charity?

Yes. We have sent letters to all 168,000 registered charities in England and Wales enclosing a password which enables the charity to view and change its GuideStar UK website. These letters were sent to the named Charity Correspondent on the Charity Commission's Public Register of Charities.

We suggest that each charity nominates an 'Editor' for their GuideStar UK entry. The Editor can make changes quickly and easily by clicking on Update my charity at the top right of your charity entry and following the simple instructions. Your charity's entry will be updated immediately.

Do I have to update my charity's entry?

No. There is absolutely no obligation to add to your entry. However, there are important benefits to doing so:

• The fuller the information in the entry, the more likely it is that visitors to the website will find your charity among the tens of thousands of charities on the site.
• Adding to your entry will ensure that people who are interested will learn more about your most recent activities, news and achievements.
• Ensuring that your charity's details are comprehensive and up to date helps you take full advantage of your entry: a high profile web presence for your charity.
• GuideStar UK is the first place to look for anyone wanting information on a charity. It is an important way to communicate with donors, volunteers, policymakers and the public generally.

Who should update my charity's entry?

Ideally, one person should be responsible for your GuideStar UK entry. This might be the person within the organisation who is in charge of communications, a trustee, or someone who knows the work of the organisation well. Since the Update my charity option allows you to edit information on your charity's activities, organisation and finances, more than one person may need to contribute to the process. The password is the key to your entry. You should restrict access to this password and keep it in a safe place.

Is there any guidance/help available on how to update my charity's entry?

Yes. Look at GETTING STARTED and TOP TIPS, which you can access after clicking Update my charity.

You don't have to complete every section of Update my charity. We have suggested the most useful sections for you to add to or update. Look at other charity entries for ideas on how to update your entry.

Can I add my charity's logo to the website?

Yes. Click on Update my charity at the top right of your charity page, go to the UPLOADS section and follow the simple instructions. The logo must be no more than 150 pixels wide and no more than 150 pixels high. Its file size should be no greater than 50Kb. File formats accepted are JPEG, GIF and PNG.

Can I add a link to my charity's website?

Yes. If we hold your website address visitors to the GuideStar UK website will be able to link to your charity's website. You can also add links to sources of further information in the text of your entry.

Can I add my charity's Annual Review or other documents to the website?

Yes. Click on Update my charity at the top right of your charity page, go to the UPLOADS section and follow the simple instructions. You can add six documents at present. The total maximum file size of all six documents combined is 5Mb. You may split this among the files as you wish.

Can my charity seek donations or volunteers via the GuideStar UK website?

Yes. Click on Update my charity at the top right of your charity page, go to GETTING STARTED and follow the simple instructions to tell GuideStar UK visitors how they can help your charity. That information will appear on every page of your charity entry.

My Trustees are out of date. How do I update them?

The information we display on trustees is received directly from the Charity Commission Register. You can edit the names using Update my charity in the organisation tab. You can also contact the Charity Commission by telephone on 0845 300 0218 or at enquiries@charitycommission.gsi.gov.uk. Once it has been updated on the Register it will automatically be updated on the GuideStar website.

Can we check our charity finance data before it is made public?

Yes you can. We have developed a preview system which allows charities to view and request changes to the financial data displayed before it is made visible to the public. An email alert notifies the charity that they can log in to view the data in the preview section of the 'Update my Charity' facility. The charity then has the option of making the information available to the public or requesting changes.

How do I change the contact details ?

You can change the contact details showing on the summary page using the following instructions

• First click on 'update my charity' link in top right hand corner of the summary page and log in with your password
• Next, select the Addresses tab
• Next, click on the small grey pencil next to the address. You can then edit the address
• Next, select this address as your preferred address by clicking the preferred address button
• Finally, click update my entry. When you return to view your charity entry the new correspondence details will appear on the front page

Why does my charity not come top when people search for our name?

On certain occasions charities will not come top of Guidestar's search results when people search for the charity name. This is often due to the charity name being replicated in other charities' names or alternative names.

This problem mainly affects national charities with many local subsidiaries (which use the national charity's name - resulting in the subsidiaries coming ahead of the main national charity).

Fortunately this problem can be easily solved by taking just a few minutes to augment your charity's entry using the Update My Charity facility.

Please ensure that your charity name (or other search entry that is directly related to your charity) is entered into as many of the following categories as possible:

• the title of your charity (i.e. Charity Name)
• your charity's alternative 'Other' Names
• your charity's Review of Activities (Summary)
• your charity's Beneficiary Description
• your charity's Location
• your charity's Area of Benefit
• your charity's Address

The more instances of a searched term that occur in a charity's entry, the higher the charity will be ranked in the search results; so entering your charity name in many or all of the above categories should ensure that your charity comes top of the search results when people search for the charity name.

Can I use GuideStar UK to communicate with Local Government and Grantmakers?

You can use the performance information and document uploads sections to give local government and grantmakers more information about your organisation. This will help them;

• expand their use of third sector organizations for public service delivery
• reduce transactions costs associated with due diligence checks in procurement and grantmaking
• facilitate consultation exercises and commissioning surveys
• support capacity building programmes and local databases

Information charities may want to supply includes:

• How the charity measures success
• An assessment of their achievements against main objectives
• How a charity quantifies and describes beneficiaries
• How the charity responds to beneficiaries' needs and how beneficiaries influence the development of the charity
• Whether the charity undertakes Criminal Records Bureau checks on staff and volunteers
• Whether the charity use quality managements systems such as Investors in People or ISO 9000

Why is my charity's latest information not displayed on the website?

In order not to place a burden on charities, we source information from the Charity Commission. We receive a weekly update of the Charity Commission's Public Register of Charities which provides us with the latest regulatory information on all 168,000 registered main charities. All charities are required to file an Annual Return and charities can also update regulatory information at any time by using the Charity Commission's Information Update Form - opens new browser window.

We also regularly receive electronic copies of the Trustees' Annual Reports and Financial Statements that have recently been filed by charities with the Charity Commission. Charities with annual incomes over £10,000 are required to file a Trustees' Annual Report or Financial Statement within 10 months of the end of the financial reporting period, which is usually one year.

We have a rolling programme of capturing data from charity reports and accounts supplied to us by the Charity Commission. Normally, we receive these eight weeks after the documents are filed with the Charity Commission. We are working to improve this turnaround time, but charities are welcome to email their latest audited reports and accounts to annualreport@guidestar.org.uk - opens new browser window if it appears that we have not received them through our normal channels in a timely manner.

If your charity's latest report and accounts is not yet displayed, this is because:

• We have not yet received your latest report and accounts from the Charity Commission;
• We are in the process of extracting data from your report and accounts - this will be ready for display in the next two weeks; or
• Our quality control has found a problem with the extracted data - corrections are being made and your entry will be updated in the next two weeks.

Technical problems at the Charity Commission have resulted in a number of missing or unusable documents. We are working with the Charity Commission to resolve these problems and apologise for the delay.

We are a housing association or higher education institution - why have you not captured information from the documents we have submitted to the Charity Commission?

Our data capture system is based on the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) formulated for charities. Housing associations and some other charities such as university colleges submit documents in a format according to the requirements of other regulators such as the Housing Corporation and Higher Education Funding Councils. Unfortunately we are not able to capture narrative and financial data from documents in these formats. However, users of the website will be able to view the documents you submitted to the Charity Commission and you can choose to use the GuideStar UK Update my charity facility to add information on your activities and finances.

What do I do if the information about my charity is wrong?

You can make corrections for most sections by clicking on the Update my charity button and following the simple instructions.

If there is an error in the regulatory information (e.g. your charity's name or official correspondence address), you can correct this by completing the Charity Commission's Annual Information Update form (remember to send the form to the address that appears on it, and not to GuideStar UK). The form can be found at http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/investigations/ccmonlinks.asp - opens new browser window. We will then receive this information through the weekly update of the Charity Commission's Public Register of Charities.

If this does not resolve the problem please contact us at info@guidestar.org.uk - opens new browser window. This will enable us to check our records, and advise you accordingly. To help us process your query quickly, please add "error report" in the title of your email.

Why do the financial figures for my charity not add up?

We seek to capture information from charities exactly as presented in regulatory documents. Our data capture procedures identify where there are inconsistencies whether due to rounding errors or transcription errors, however we do not make changes. We suggest that users check the original documents. We provide a facility for users to view these documents.

Why do the headings on your website differ from those in my Trustees' Annual Report and Accounts?

We have captured data according to the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) and the headings we use on the website correspond with the SORP. However after close consultation with charities and users we have formulated standardised headings which are the most useful for the most number of users.

Why does my charity's entry contain typographical errors and how can I correct them?

We capture information from your Trustees' Annual Report using optical character recognition software. This scans the words in your documents and copies them into our database. This is the most efficient and cost effective means of capturing data from 1 million pages of charity documents each year. However, if there are any imperfections in the original document or the electronic copy sent to us by the Charity Commission, small typographical errors can occur. We try to ensure that as many documents as possible error free.

You can make corrections to most sections of your charity entry by clicking on the Update my charity button and following the simple instructions. If there is a serious error in the regulatory information, please let us know and we will make the correction. Please note that errors in the data coming from the Public Register of Charities must be corrected at source with the Charity Commission.

Why is there a problem with the formatting of financial tables extracted from my Trustees' Annual Report?

We are able to capture information from almost all documents, but some present us with problems. We treat tables as a special format and capture them in a standard table format. Sometimes characters or whole words are lost from the end of long sentences, and sometimes words or numbers are not properly aligned. Visitors to the GuideStar UK website will be encouraged to refer to your original document if tables are not properly formatted on your GuideStar UK entry.

What if my charity is a part of a group of charities?

Every charity that has its own Charity Commission registration number will have its own entry on GuideStar UK. If your charity is part of a group that prepares consolidated accounts, we may not have captured all the information on your charity. Please use Update my charity to add as much information as you would like.

Can I change my charity's password?

No.  This is because it is linked to your individual charity registration number.

Is the password case-sensitive?

No.

What do I do if I have not received a password?

If you have not received a password in the post, then please send us your charity registration number, charity name, job title and if possible where you heard about GuideStar UK by email to password@guidestar.org.uk - opens new browser window.

We are a new charity, how do we obtain a password?

If you have not received a password in the post, then please send us your charity registration number, charity name, job title and if possible where you heard about GuideStar UK by email to  password@guidestar.org.uk - opens new browser window