Charity costs

How do we know whether a charity is performing well in fundraising?


For all the reasons laid out in this section, it is impossible to directly compare the performance of one organisation with that of another.

All we can say with certainty is that it will cost most charities between 15 and 25p to raise £1. This doesn't mean that charities reporting a lower pattern of performance are necessarily performing badly and there may be very good reasons why a particular figure has been achieved.

Supporters who are worried that a charity is spending too much on fundraising should feel free to ask the organisation to justify its performance. Any reputable charity will be happy to answer an enquiry of this nature and to provide an explanation. It is then up to the supporter to consider whether they are happy to proceed.


In making this latter determination we would encourage supporters to balance these simplistic ratios with the reality of what the organisation is achieving on the ground.

The acid test in all philanthropic activity must surely be - is it making a difference – is the organisation achieving its stated aims?

Ultimately this is much more important than whether an organisation spends 1p or 22p to raise £1.