GuideStar UK was set up in 2003 to provide, for the first time, a single, easily accessible source of detailed information about every charity and voluntary organisation in England and Wales.
Our ambition is for www.guidestar.org.uk to become the first place that anyone wanting information on a charity will look. The site provides a high profile free web presence, not just for established charities, but also for the many smaller specialist and local organisations that do not have websites. It promotes greater public understanding of the work of charities and how they are managed. And it is an invaluable source of statistical and financial information for grant makers, researchers and public policy makers.
No one pays to be included in our database and use of the website is absolutely free of charge.
Currently, our site contains details of the 169,000 registered main charities in England and Wales. In the future we plan to include charities in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The base information about each charity is provided from the records of the Charity Commission - and subsequently maintained and updated by the charities themselves using online editing tools that we provide.
Our History
GuideStar UK was established in response to the 2002 Cabinet Office Strategy Unit Report that found that the level of information available to the public on charities was inadequate. Initiated by the Institute of Philanthropy - opens new browser window and modelled on the established and successful GuideStar information system in the USA www.guidestar.org - opens new browser window, GuideStar UK was developed in initial partnership with the Charity Commission with funding from the Treasury and grantmaking trusts in the UK and US.
A great many people and organisations helped us develop the GuideStar UK website. During two years of development and a lengthy series of meetings and workshops we obtained valuable advice and feedback from representatives of charities, donors, funders, professional advisers, researchers and government. The free public website www.guidestar.org.uk was launched in December 2005.
In January 2008 a Community Interest Company, GuideStar Data Services (GDS), was established to provide data analysis services to institutions on all registered charities in England and Wales, as well as not-for-profit companies, social enterprises and industrial and provident societies. With a wealth of data and experience of analysing and interpreting this data, GDS provides unique insight into an under-investigated, poorly understood, yet hugely important sector. More information on GuideStar Data Services can be found here www.gs-ds.co.uk - opens new browser window.