Information on charities is now more accessible than ever before, thanks to a new version of the Charity Commission’s online register.

The independent charity regulator has launched the new register at www.charitycommission.gov.uk providing colour graphics and details of activities, trustees, key financial information and whether charities file their accounts and returns on time.

For charities with incomes over £500,000, new financial profiles show what they receive and how they spend their money.

The move is aimed at increasing the transparency and accountability of the charity sector and to help people access information about charities.

Previously, the same financial information was available to the public but only in the form of written documents held online.

Key features of the enhanced online Register of Charities include:
• A detailed profile for charities with an income over £500,000 including easy-to-read graphs and text showing the charity’s income and spending, how many volunteers and employees they have and their track record for submitting accounts. A more succinct financial profile is available for smaller charities.
• Enhanced search facilities to search for recently registered charities, charities that have not filed their accounts with the Commission on time, and charities working in a particular field or particular geographical area.
• Trustee cross-referencing and new print options that show if a particular trustee is also a trustee of other charities, and options to print off copies of a charity’s entry in colour or in black and white.
• A feedback section on the Welcome Page which invites users to tell the Commission what they think of the new online register and how it can be further improved.

Chair of the Charity Commission, Dame Suzi Leather, said: “The public quite rightly expects to be able to see how charities are using their money. The new register will help the public do this by showing information about charities in a far more accessible way.

“It will enable us all to be better informed charity givers and supporters and make charities even more accountable to all their donors and beneficiaries. Most charities have an excellent story to tell and we hope this will lead to a more open, transparent sector that welcomes the scrutiny of those that fund it.”

Ben Wittenberg, director for Policy and Research at the Directory of Social Change added: “In terms of improving public access to information on charities, I think the new site functionality is a really big and positive step and absolutely what the Commission should be doing.”

Last year 98% of the charity sector’s income was accounted for in the accounts sent into the Charity Commission. Of the 190,000 charities on the Register of Charities, two-thirds have an income of less than £10,000 a year.

The 9,000 charities that have an income of more than £500,000 are expected to provide more detailed information on their finances due to the larger amounts of money they are responsible for.

The new colour graphics are charts generated from this information. Smaller charities with an income of less than £10,000 are required to send in annual returns and prepare accounts but not submit those to the Commission.

According to recent Ipsos MORI research for the Charity Commission, 96% of people believe it is important that charities provide public information on how they spend their money.

Between June 07 and June 08 there were nearly 15 million page views of the current online Register of Charities, which accounts for more than half of all page views on the Charity Commission website.

Key questions answered about the new online register:

What are the advantages of the new Register of Charities?

The new Register makes key information about a charity much clearer and more accessible. Core information about their work and finances are presented on a single page. Improved navigation makes finding what you want quicker and easier. The Register has new and enhanced search facilities that allow you to search for charities by income range, where they work or by the date they were registered. For larger charities there is a standardised financial profile which includes details of their income and expenditure and their numbers of employees and volunteers.

Who is the new Register for?

Anyone with an interest in charity. This could be donors, beneficiaries, grant-makers, researchers, sector commentators, other charities and the general public. The new Register caters for the needs of a broad audience. New navigation makes it easier to find exactly what you are looking for about a charity. Help and guidance is available on every screen with information “i” buttons to explain terms and definitions. There is also a feedback facility for people to tell us what they think about the new Register.

Why has the Charity Commission introduced the new Register?

The Commission has a statutory duty to maintain a Register of Charities and there has been a public version available on our website since 1997. Its style and format has dated and doesn’t represent the Commission today. Developments in technology have presented us with an opportunity to improve the user experience as well as improving accountability and transparency amongst charities. We want the new Register to be informative whilst also promoting our regulatory message to get more charities to send us their accounts and Returns on time.

We also have a duty to promote public trust and confidence in charities. Recent research (Ipsos MORI Feb 2008) shows that the public believe it is important that charities provide public information about how they spend their money. Although charity accounts have always been publicly available, new financial profiles for larger charities (over £500k) show at a glance details of their income and expenditure.

Where can I find definitions of the terms used and an explanation of the financial profiles for larger charities?

Every page of the Register contains further help and guidance. Click the blue ‘i’ information icon that appears at the side of every heading, and help for this section will open up in a new window. You will find a fuller explanation of that particular term or section. If you have any further questions about the definitions or queries about the reporting requirements for charities you can look at our website guidance “About Annual Returns” and “Reporting Requirements” or for queries about a charity’s entry on the Register including its financial profile, call our helpline on 0845 300 0197.

Where does the information on the Register come from? Has what appears on the new Register always been publicly available, or is it new information?

The information that appears on the Register comes directly from charities themselves, given to us through their Annual Return or Annual Update. We also make copies of accounts publicly available on the Register for all charities with income over £25,000. The new Register is a mix of existing content, content that can be found in accounts but may be difficult to access, and some wholly new content relating to where charities are operating and volunteer numbers. Information about employee and volunteer numbers has, since 2007, been provided by charities as part of their Annual Return.

How is the Charity Commission informing charities about the new Register?

We have written to the 9,000 charities with an income of more than £500k in advance of the Register being launched, and have used our extensive email list of charities to let them know about the changes in the online Register. We will of course continue to promote the Register to ensure that charities are aware of it. As part of the public consultation for Annual Return 2007 we explained that the changes to information we would be requesting were designed to support a new and improved Register of Charities.