Human rights · Reg 313020
Friends of the Nations' Libraries
Charity rating & review
62/100 Clarity Score · 2 stars · Charity Commission filings · How we score
Clarity score
Needs improvement
Is Friends of the Nations' Libraries a good charity?
Friends of the Nations' Libraries scores 62/100 (Needs improvement) on our Clarity Score, with 86% of spending going to charitable activities and accounts up to date. This reflects financial transparency and stewardship from Charity Commission filings — not the real-world impact of its programmes. See the full breakdown.
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Mission
Friends of the Nations' Libraries is a registered charity (no. 313020) working in human rights across the United Kingdom. Its latest Charity Commission filing directs 86% of spending to charitable activities, holding roughly 89 months of reserves, and files its annual accounts on time. Income has been growing over recent years. CharityCompare's Clarity Score rates the organisation only from public Charity Commission accounts — accountability, financial health, efficiency and community support — not the quality or impact of its programmes.
In short: Friends of the Nations' Libraries scores 62 out of 100 (2 stars). 86% average program spend (3-year average). Review the pillar breakdown below.
Overview
Friends of the Nations' Libraries has a Clarity Score of 62 out of 100 on CharityCompare (2 stars, Needs improvement). Charity Commission registration number 313020. Status: Registered. Primary cause area: Human rights. Latest accounts year 2020: total income £1.2m, with 86% of expenditure on charitable activities. Accounts filing: up to date. Reserves: approximately 89 months of operating costs. 1 filing concern(s) noted on this profile. Scores are independent and based on official filings — not a donation recommendation.
Data from Charity Commission register, last updated .
Overall score
62/100
2★ · Needs improvement
Cause spend
86%
3-yr avg · charitable activities
Accountability
93/100
Finance beacon
Income
£1.2m
Latest year 2020
Reserves
89 mo
Months of running costs
Accounts filing
On time
Charity Commission
£13.0 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) · 16% overhead · Website on register · Confidence: high
How Friends of the Nations' Libraries compares
Clarity Score benchmarked against similar UK charities — higher is better.
Ranks higher than 17% of 3,014 charities in its income band.
Ranks higher than 14% of 197 charities in this cause.
Data & confidence
- Source
- Charity Commission (E&W)
- Accounts year
- 2020
- Filing date
- 2026-06-24 00:00:00.0000000
- Profile reviewed
- 2026-06-25
High confidence — complete filing data
Scores reflect the latest annual accounts on the register. Impact, leadership, and culture beacons require information beyond public filings.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Charity Commission for England and Wales . Open Government Licence v3.0 .
Beacon report
Detailed accountability and finance metrics from Charity Commission filings — structured for transparency in our four-beacon report.
Accountability & Transparency
Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.
93/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Filing history (5 years) 100% on-time over five years = 15 pts · one late filing = 5 pts · two or more = 0 pts. | 100% | 15/15 pts |
| Trustee oversight Three or more trustees on the register = 15 pts · one or two = 0 pts (governance red flag). | 100% | 13 trustees · 15/15 pts |
| Declared policies Safeguarding (4) · conflict of interest (3) · volunteer management (3) — from Charity Commission annual return. | 70% | 7/10 pts |
Financial Health
Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.
17/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Reserves (months of cash) 3–24 months = 15 pts · 1–3 months = 7 pts · under 1 month or over 3 years (hoarding) = 0 pts. | 0% | 89 months · 0/15 pts |
| Income stability / growth Positive or stable three-year revenue trend = 10 pts · sustained decline = 0 pts. | 0% | 0/10 pts · 3-year average |
| Liabilities to assets Low debt (< 30% liabilities to assets) = 5 pts · high debt = 0 pts. | 100% | 5% · 5/5 pts |
Financial Efficiency
How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.
100/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Program expense ratio ≥ 75% on charitable activities = 10 pts · 60–75% = 5 pts · below 60% = 0 pts. | 100% | 86% · 10/10 pts (3-year average) |
| Fundraising efficiency Spends ≤ £0.20 to raise £1 = 10 pts · £0.21–£0.35 = 5 pts · above £0.35 = 0 pts (fundraising cost ÷ income). | 100% | 11p per £1 income · 10/10 pts (3-year average) |
Community Support
Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.
0/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Volunteer-to-staff ratio More volunteers than paid staff = 10 pts · equal mix = 5 pts · no volunteers = 0 pts. | 0% | Not reported · 0/10 pts |
Clarity Score
62/100 total · Needs improvement · 2 of 4 stars
Four pillars (40 + 30 + 20 + 10 points) from Charity Commission filings — see methodology for full weightings.
Accountability & Transparency
Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.
93/100
Financial Health
Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.
17/100
Financial Efficiency
How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.
100/100
Community Support
Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.
0/100
Revenue & expenses
Latest filed year 2020 · Source: Charity Commission annual accounts
| Category | Amount | % of spend |
|---|---|---|
| Total income | £1.2m | — |
| Total expenditure | £758k | — |
| Charitable activities | £700k | 92% |
| Fundraising | £58k | 8% |
| Governance & admin | £1k | 0% |
Where the money goes
Latest accounts (2020) · £758k spent
- Charitable activities92% · £700k
- Fundraising8% · £58k
- Governance0% · £1k
Trust indicators
Pulled from the Charity Commission register — filing behaviour, board size, and workforce where reported.
-
Accounts filed on time
up to date · last filing 2026-06-24 00:00:00.0000000
-
Trustee board size (3–12)
13 trustees on the Charity Commission register
Fundraising Regulator
Status not yet checked
Separate from our financial scores — shows whether the charity follows the Code of Fundraising Practice.
Check Fundraising Regulator →Official register
Reg 313020
Full trustee list, accounts, and regulatory history on the Charity Commission.
View on Charity Commission →Trustees & officers
- Charles Adam Laurie Sebag-Montefiore CBE
- Professor RICHARD OVENDEN OBE since 2014
- Mr Geordie Greig Chair · since 2017
- Dr Jessica Pearsall Gardner since 2017
- Dr Amina Shah since 2021
- Tina Michelle Morton since 2023
- Dr Rhodri Llwyd Morgan since 2024
- Artemis Clare Antonia Cooper since 2024
- Professor Kathryn Sutherland since 2024
- Thomas William Ayling since 2025
- Anothy Colin Richard Davis since 2025
- STEPHEN PETER CLARKE since 2025
How we score charities +
The Clarity Score is a 100-point rating from UK Charity Commission data. Four pillars — Accountability & Transparency (40), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10). A statutory inquiry sets the score to 0 automatically.
Accountability & Transparency
Scored from filings
40 points — filing history (15), trustee oversight (15), declared policies (10).
Financial Health
Scored from filings
30 points — reserves (15), income stability (10), liabilities to assets (5).
Financial Efficiency
Scored from filings
20 points — program expense ratio (10), fundraising efficiency (10). Kept at 20% to avoid punishing legitimate infrastructure costs.
Community Support
Scored from filings
10 points — volunteer-to-staff ratio from Charity Commission workforce data.
Overall score
Sum of all pillar points. Translated to stars: 90–100 Exceptional (4★), 75–89 Good (3★), 60–74 Needs improvement (2★), below 60 Poor (1★).
Five-year trends
- Income
- Spending
- Cause spend
Values in £ thousands · Source: Charity Commission accounts
Key facts
- Overall score
- 62/100 (2★)
- Income
- £1.2m
- Cause spend
- 86% of expenditure
- Reg number
- 313020
- Scope
- UK-wide
- Reserves
- 89 months
- Trustees
- 13
- Accounts year
- 2020
- Filing
- up to date
Compare & explore
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Red flags
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about Friends of the Nations' Libraries's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.
What is Friends of the Nations' Libraries's charity rating? +
Friends of the Nations' Libraries scores 62 out of 100 on CharityCompare (2 stars — Needs improvement). The Clarity Score V1 sums four pillars from Charity Commission filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 pts), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10).
Is Friends of the Nations' Libraries a good charity to donate to? +
Friends of the Nations' Libraries scores 62 out of 100 (2 stars — Needs improvement) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its Charity Commission filings. Around 86% of its spending goes to charitable activities and its accounts are up to date. That reflects how transparent and financially healthy it looks on paper — it does not measure the real-world impact of its work, so treat it as one factor alongside the cause you care about. CharityCompare never tells you where to donate.
Is Friends of the Nations' Libraries a legitimate UK charity? +
Yes — Friends of the Nations' Libraries is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales under registration number 313020. You can verify the entry on the official register.
What is Friends of the Nations' Libraries's Charity Commission registration number? +
Friends of the Nations' Libraries's registration number is 313020. Official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/313020
How much income does Friends of the Nations' Libraries receive? +
Friends of the Nations' Libraries reported £1.2m total income in its 2020 accounts, based on Charity Commission filings. Five-year trend: growing.
What percentage of Friends of the Nations' Libraries's spending goes to charitable activities? +
Approximately 86% of total expenditure went to charitable activities in the latest filed year. Fundraising was 14% and combined overhead (fundraising plus governance) was 16%.
Are Friends of the Nations' Libraries's accounts up to date? +
Filing status: up to date (last filing 2026-06-24 00:00:00.0000000). CharityCompare flags late or missing accounts separately from the financial score.
Where is Friends of the Nations' Libraries based? +
Friends of the Nations' Libraries is listed at Reading · UK-wide · RG8 9JA and operates UK-wide, focused on human rights.
How does CharityCompare score Friends of the Nations' Libraries? +
We analyse Charity Commission annual accounts using three-year averages for program expense, fundraising efficiency, and overhead; working capital from reserves vs average expenditure; liabilities-to-assets from the latest balance sheet when available. Impact, leadership, and culture beacons are not yet assessed from public data alone. See our methodology for weights and thresholds.
Does CharityCompare recommend donating to Friends of the Nations' Libraries? +
No. CharityCompare provides independent scores and facts from official filings. We do not tell you where to donate or earn commission from charities.
How can I compare Friends of the Nations' Libraries with other charities? +
Use our free compare tool to put Friends of the Nations' Libraries side-by-side with other UK charities on scores, finances, and filing status.