GuideStar UK - Area profiles

GuideStar UK information services

Our website www.guidestar.org.uk is the first place to look for information on charities. The website presents detailed information on the activities, organisation and finances of all 167,000 registered charities in England and Wales. The information contained on GuideStar UK includes:

  • Up to date official regulatory information derived from the Charity Commission.
  • Narrative and financial information captured from regulatory documents filed each year by larger charities.
  • Information provided voluntarily by charities online.

The GuideStar UK website provides a high profile free web presence, not just for established charities, but also for the many smaller specialist and local organisations that currently do not have websites. The website is used by people looking for help whether it be the services provided by charities, advice or information. It also helps people find charities to support either through donations or volunteering. GuideStar UK promotes greater public understanding of the work of charities and how they are managed. GuideStar UK is also an invaluable source of statistical and financial information for grant makers, researchers and public policy makers.

Local authorities and local intermediary agencies can encourage charities in their locality to use the GuideStar UK Update my charity facility to voluntarily update and supplement their free entries.

Please explore our free public website to learn more about the world of charities www.guidestar.org.uk - please use the advanced search option to learn more about charities in your locality.

GuideStar UK Indicators of voluntary and community sector activity

In consultation with the Audit Commission - opens in a new browser window, GuideStar UK has formulated some standard indicators for every local authority area in England, the indicators relate to 2005 and will be updated each year. These indicators are designed to help all those agencies utilising the work of, partnering with, or supporting voluntary and community organisations locally. Below you will find a list of these indicators for each of the regions in England and also Wales. We would welcome your feedback on these indicators (please email data@guidestar.org.uk - opens a new browser window).

Voluntary and community sector indicators: Number of charities

  No. of charities  Charities per capita New in 2005 Total incoming resources
    Source: GuideStar UK 2006
North East 5,268 2.1 96 £864,863,872
North West 15,769 2.3 296 £3,214,721,102
Yorkshire and The Humber 12,238 2.5 229 £1,918,814,384
East Midlands 12,801 3.0 221 £1,877,608,154
West Midlands 14,400 2.7 260 £2,512,359,102
East of England 19,431 3.6 333 £3,204,154,266
London 26,634 3.6 761 £18,774,359,989
South East 28,702 3.6 476 £6,093,328,357
South West 20,407 4.1 311 £3,160,335,586
Wales 8,905 3.1 123 £879,193,056
England & Wales 164,555 3.1 3,106 £42,499,737,868
Total 167,405      

Voluntary and community sector indicators: Incoming resources

  Total incoming resources Sales  Voluntary income Investment income Other income
      Source: GuideStar UK 2006
North East £864,863,872 43.4% 36.7% 3.9% 16.0%
North West £3,214,721,102 53.6% 27.7% 2.8% 16.0%
Yorkshire and The Humber £1,918,814,384 49.1% 29.4% 3.4% 18.0%
East Midlands £1,877,608,154 46.9% 31.0% 2.7% 19.4%
West Midlands £2,512,359,102 47.4% 26.9% 4.2% 21.4%
East of England £3,204,154,266 59.9% 22.6% 3.3% 14.2%
London £18,774,359,989 45.2% 36.6% 6.9% 11.2%
South East £6,093,328,357 53.1% 29.9% 4.4% 12.6%
South West £3,160,335,586 55.1% 25.5% 5.3% 14.2%
Wales £879,193,056 33.3% 46.6% 2.0% 18.1%
England & Wales £42,499,737,868 48.9% 32.2% 5.2% 13.7%

Voluntary and community sector indicators: Expenditure & human resources

  Charitable expenditure % of income  Trusteeships Number of paid staff Avg per charity
      Source: GuideStar UK 2006
North East £644,334,984 74.5% 28,603 16,952 3.2
North West £2,417,310,074 75.2% 78,614 54,165 3.4
Yorkshire and The Humber £1,381,510,120 72.0% 65,129 35,316 2.9
East Midlands £1,228,541,208 65.4% 67,366 31,303 2.4
West Midlands £1,649,043,955 65.6% 77,393 45,247 3.1
East of England £2,431,818,453 75.9% 103,382 47,916 2.5
London £14,277,911,126 76.1% 137,459 249,304 9.4
South East £4,593,210,673 75.4% 155,723 101,611 3.5
South West £2,231,554,782 70.6% 112,376 59,944 2.9
Wales £640,383,572 72.8% 42,923 17,095 1.9
England & Wales £31,495,618,947 74.1% 868,968 658,853 4.0

Voluntary and community sector indicators: Beneficiaries

  Children & Young People Elderly Disability Black & minority ethnic
    Source: GuideStar UK 2006
North East 2,693 1,458 1,386 376
North West 7,758 3,648 3,570 1,075
Yorkshire and The Humber 6,144 2,991 2,641 738
East Midlands 6,349 3,304 2,685 552
West Midlands 6,795 3,648 3,245 930
East of England 9,119 4,818 3,940 725
London 11,7836 6,012 5,903 4,207
South East 13,933 6,441 5,913 1,132
South West 9,918 4,919 4,282 664
Wales 4,269 2,115 1,984 375
England & Wales 78,764 39,354 35,549 10,774

Voluntary and community sector indicators: Activities

  Culture and Leisure Economic well-being Education and life-long learning Environment Health and well-being Housing
    Source: GuideStar UK 2006
North East 1,596 1,230 2,422 632 1,085 236
North West 3,706 3,297 6,866 1,588 2,948 706
Yorkshire and The Humber 3,202 2,497 5,441 1,330 2,086 601
East Midlands 2,946 2,670 5,476 1,334 1,961 571
West Midlands 3,556 2,866 6,121 1,471 2,539 700
East of England 4,585 3,695 7,945 2,284 3,001 889
London 6,130 7,185 12,934 2,250 6,289 1,704
South East 6,664 5,048 12,696 3,120 5,030 1,369
South West 5,056 3,803 8,720 2,362 3,302 912
Wales 2,451 1,655 3,678 1,041 1,474 289
England & Wales 39,892 33,946 72,299 17,412 29,715 7,977

Voluntary and community sector indicators: Roles

  Service providers Infrastructure Grantmakers Advocacy, research & information
    Source: GuideStar UK 2006
North East 1,302 494 1,398 1,114
North West 3,508 1,117 5,221 2,857
Yorkshire and The Humber 2,767 917 3,625 2,140
East Midlands 2,404 736 4,256 1,798
West Midlands 3,113 951 4,512 2,389
East of England 3,609 1,131 6,692 2,724
London 7,449 2,427 10,934 7,472
South East 6,035 1,791 10,279 4,523
South West 4,192 1,305 6,660 2,997
Wales 1,934 593 2,092 1,556
England & Wales 36,313 11,462 55,669 29,570

Supporting the work of local authorities and local intermediary agencies

GuideStar UK provides a range of information services that can support the work of local authorities and local intermediary agencies. Local authorities and local intermediary agencies play a key role in supporting, promoting and funding the work of charities, GuideStar UK is therefore keen to work with these organisations.

In addition to the free website, GuideStar UK can provide local authorities and local intermediary agencies with a range of information services. GuideStar UK :

  • Can supply valuable data that can be used to populate new or update existing directories and databases.
  • Can supply comprehensive information on the activities, organisation and finances of charities that can be used to inform local mapping studies, monitoring and evaluation processes, and policy analyses.
  • Can support due diligence checks and other analyses undertaken by funders.
  • Has formulated a range of indicators of voluntary and community activity that provide a snapshot for each local authority area.

GuideStar UK can provide data under a range of data licence arrangements, for further information about these services please email data@guidestar.org.uk - opens a new browser window. GuideStar UK can also provide bespoke information services.

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