Children & youth · Reg 1197541
ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM
Charity rating & review
92/100 Clarity Score · 4 stars · Charity Commission filings · How we score
Clarity score
Exceptional
Is ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM a good charity?
ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM scores 92/100 (Exceptional) on our Clarity Score, with 80% 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
ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM is a registered charity (no. 1197541) working in children & youth across the United Kingdom. Its latest Charity Commission filing directs 80% of spending to charitable activities, holding roughly 1 months of reserves, and files its annual accounts on time. 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: ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM scores 92 out of 100 (4 stars). 80% average program spend (3-year average). Filings are up to date with no major concerns.
Overview
ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM has a Clarity Score of 92 out of 100 on CharityCompare (4 stars, Exceptional). Charity Commission registration number 1197541. Status: Registered. Primary cause area: Children & youth. Latest accounts year 2023: total income £20m, with 80% of expenditure on charitable activities. Accounts filing: up to date. Reserves: approximately 1 months of operating costs. No major red flags from our filing review. Scores are independent and based on official filings — not a donation recommendation.
Data from Charity Commission register, last updated .
Overall score
92/100
4★ · Great
Cause spend
80%
3-yr avg · charitable activities
Accountability
100/100
Finance beacon
Income
£20m
Latest year 2023
Reserves
1 mo
Months of running costs
Accounts filing
On time
Charity Commission
£29.4 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) · 5% overhead · Website on register · Confidence: high
How ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM compares
Clarity Score benchmarked against similar UK charities — higher is better.
Ranks higher than 93% of 1,022 charities in its income band.
Ranks higher than 88% of 3,988 charities in this cause.
Data & confidence
- Source
- Charity Commission (E&W)
- Accounts year
- 2023
- 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.
100/100
| 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% | 14 trustees · 15/15 pts |
| Declared policies Safeguarding (4) · conflict of interest (3) · volunteer management (3) — from Charity Commission annual return. | 100% | 10/10 pts |
Financial Health
Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.
73/100
| 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. | 47% | 1 months · 7/15 pts |
| Income stability / growth Positive or stable three-year revenue trend = 10 pts · sustained decline = 0 pts. | 100% | 10/10 pts · 3-year average |
| Liabilities to assets Low debt (< 30% liabilities to assets) = 5 pts · high debt = 0 pts. | 100% | 1% · 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% | 80% · 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% | 3p per £1 income · 10/10 pts (3-year average) |
Community Support
Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.
100/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Volunteer-to-staff ratio More volunteers than paid staff = 10 pts · equal mix = 5 pts · no volunteers = 0 pts. | 100% | 403 volunteers / 203 staff · 10/10 pts |
Clarity Score
92/100 total · Exceptional · 4 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.
100/100
Financial Health
Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.
73/100
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.
100/100
Revenue & expenses
Latest filed year 2023 · Source: Charity Commission annual accounts
| Category | Amount | % of spend |
|---|---|---|
| Total income | £20m | — |
| Total expenditure | £19m | — |
| Charitable activities | £15m | 80% |
| Fundraising | £695k | 4% |
| Governance & admin | £852k | 4% |
Where the money goes
Latest accounts (2023) · £19m spent
- Charitable activities80% · £15m
- Fundraising4% · £695k
- Governance4% · £852k
- Other spending12% · £2.3m
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)
14 trustees on the Charity Commission register
-
Workforce on register
203 employees · 403 volunteers (2:1 volunteer-to-staff)
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 1197541
Full trustee list, accounts, and regulatory history on the Charity Commission.
View on Charity Commission →Trustees & officers
- Waseem Mahmood OBE since 2022
- John Banks since 2022
- David Cooper CBE since 2022
- Matthew Gilpin since 2022
- Sir Stephen Hillier since 2022
- Jonathan Ian Field since 2022
- Julie McGarvey since 2022
- Nick Sanders since 2022
- Air Marshal Peter William David Ruddock CB CBE since 2022
- Josh Chana since 2023
- Hemma Gooljar since 2023
- Anita Bernie since 2026
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
- 92/100 (4★)
- Income
- £20m
- Cause spend
- 80% of expenditure
- Reg number
- 1197541
- Scope
- UK-wide
- Reserves
- 1 months
- Trustees
- 14
- Accounts year
- 2023
- Filing
- up to date
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Frequently asked questions
Common questions about ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.
What is ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM's charity rating? +
ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM scores 92 out of 100 on CharityCompare (4 stars — Exceptional). 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 ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM a good charity to donate to? +
ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM scores 92 out of 100 (4 stars — Exceptional) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its Charity Commission filings. Around 80% 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 ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM a legitimate UK charity? +
Yes — ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales under registration number 1197541. You can verify the entry on the official register.
What is ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM's Charity Commission registration number? +
ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM's registration number is 1197541. Official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/1197541
How much income does ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM receive? +
ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM reported £20m total income in its 2023 accounts, based on Charity Commission filings. Five-year trend: stable.
What percentage of ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM's spending goes to charitable activities? +
Approximately 80% of total expenditure went to charitable activities in the latest filed year. Fundraising was 4% and combined overhead (fundraising plus governance) was 5%.
Are ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM'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 ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM based? +
ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM is listed at London · UK-wide · NW9 5LL and operates UK-wide, focused on children & youth.
How does CharityCompare score ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM? +
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 ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM? +
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 ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM with other charities? +
Use our free compare tool to put ROYAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM side-by-side with other UK charities on scores, finances, and filing status.