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SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM

Charity rating & review

90/100 Clarity Score · 4 stars · Charity Commission filings · How we score

Verified · Charity Commission data
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90 /100

Clarity score

Exceptional

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Is SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM a good charity?

SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM scores 90/100 (Exceptional) on our Clarity Score, with 72% 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.

London · UK-wide · WC2A 3BP Reg 313609 Registered charity Official website Charity Commission register

Mission

SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM is a registered charity (no. 313609) working in children & youth across the United Kingdom. Its latest Charity Commission filing directs 72% of spending to charitable activities, holding roughly 14 months of reserves, and files its annual accounts on time. Reported income has been declining 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: SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM scores 90 out of 100 (4 stars). 72% average program spend (3-year average). Filings are up to date with no major concerns.

Overview

SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM has a Clarity Score of 90 out of 100 on CharityCompare (4 stars, Exceptional). Charity Commission registration number 313609. Status: Registered. Primary cause area: Children & youth. Latest accounts year 2021: total income £2.7m, with 72% of expenditure on charitable activities. Accounts filing: up to date. Reserves: approximately 14 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

90/100

4★ · Great

Cause spend

72%

3-yr avg · charitable activities

Accountability

100/100

Finance beacon

Income

£2.7m

Latest year 2021

Reserves

14 mo

Months of running costs

Accounts filing

On time

Charity Commission

£3.9 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) · 29% overhead · Website on register · Confidence: high

How SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM compares

Clarity Score benchmarked against similar UK charities — higher is better.

Income band (£1m–£5m)90 vs 77 avg

Ranks higher than 85% of 3,014 charities in its income band.

Children & youth charities90 vs 78 avg

Ranks higher than 85% of 3,988 charities in this cause.

Data & confidence

Source
Charity Commission (E&W)
Accounts year
2021
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

Accountability & Transparency metrics for SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM
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.

100/100

Financial Health metrics for SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM
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.

100% 14 months · 15/15 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% 3% · 5/5 pts

Financial Efficiency

How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.

50/100

Financial Efficiency metrics for SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM
Metric Score Value
Program expense ratio

≥ 75% on charitable activities = 10 pts · 60–75% = 5 pts · below 60% = 0 pts.

50% 72% · 5/10 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).

50% 25p per £1 income · 5/10 pts (3-year average)

Community Support

Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.

100/100

Community Support metrics for SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM
Metric Score Value
Volunteer-to-staff ratio

More volunteers than paid staff = 10 pts · equal mix = 5 pts · no volunteers = 0 pts.

100% 136 volunteers / 74 staff · 10/10 pts

How we calculate beacon scores →

Clarity Score

90/100 total · Exceptional · 4 of 4 stars

Four pillars (40 + 30 + 20 + 10 points) from Charity Commission filings — see methodology for full weightings.

100/100
Accountability & Transparency
100/100
Financial Health
50/100
Financial Efficiency
100/100
Community Support

Accountability & Transparency

Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.

100/100

Filing history (5 years)15/15 pts
Trustee oversight14 trustees · 15/15 pts
Declared policies10/10 pts

Financial Health

Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.

100/100

Reserves (months of cash)14 months · 15/15 pts
Income stability / growth10/10 pts · 3-year average
Liabilities to assets3% · 5/5 pts

Financial Efficiency

How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.

50/100

Program expense ratio72% · 5/10 pts (3-year average)
Fundraising efficiency25p per £1 income · 5/10 pts (3-year average)

Community Support

Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.

100/100

Volunteer-to-staff ratio136 volunteers / 74 staff · 10/10 pts

Revenue & expenses

Latest filed year 2021 · Source: Charity Commission annual accounts

SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM revenue and expenses for 2021
Category Amount % of spend
Total income £2.7m
Total expenditure £2.7m
Charitable activities £2.0m 73%
Fundraising £724k 27%
Governance & admin £44k 2%
73%On charitable activities

Where the money goes

Latest accounts (2021) · £2.7m spent

  • Charitable activities73%
  • Fundraising27%
  • Governance2%

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

    74 employees · 136 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 313609

Full trustee list, accounts, and regulatory history on the Charity Commission.

View on Charity Commission →

Trustees & officers

  • Professor Jonathan Felix Ashmore FRS since 2017
  • Alison Ross Green since 2019
  • Dr Frank Edwin Salmon since 2020
  • Anne Desmet RA since 2021
  • Lord James Sassoon since 2022
  • Professor Kerensa Jennings since 2022
  • Amin Taha since 2022
  • Amicia Kathryn de Moubray since 2022
  • Lucie Annabel Kitchener since 2022
  • Andrew Hamish Forsyth since 2022
  • John Frederick Clappier since 2024
  • Zoe Nicole Whitley Richmond since 2024
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.

Full methodology →

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

£0k £1100k £2200k £3300k £4400k 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Income 2021: £2,734k Spending 2021: £2,705k Cause spend 2021: £1,981k Income 2022: £3,229k Spending 2022: £2,827k Cause spend 2022: £2,009k Income 2023: £3,944k Spending 2023: £3,475k Cause spend 2023: £2,489k Income 2024: £4,018k Spending 2024: £3,583k Cause spend 2024: £2,600k Income 2025: £4,222k Spending 2025: £3,961k Cause spend 2025: £2,832k
  • Income
  • Spending
  • Cause spend

Values in £ thousands · Source: Charity Commission accounts

Key facts

Overall score
90/100 (4★)
Income
£2.7m
Cause spend
72% of expenditure
Reg number
313609
Scope
UK-wide
Reserves
14 months
Trustees
14
Accounts year
2021
Filing
up to date

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Top-rated peers by CharityCompare score

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Red flags

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.

What is SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM's charity rating? +

SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM scores 90 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 SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM a good charity to donate to? +

SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM scores 90 out of 100 (4 stars — Exceptional) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its Charity Commission filings. Around 72% 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 SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM a legitimate UK charity? +

Yes — SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales under registration number 313609. You can verify the entry on the official register.

What is SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM's Charity Commission registration number? +

SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM's registration number is 313609. Official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/313609

How much income does SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM receive? +

SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM reported £2.7m total income in its 2021 accounts, based on Charity Commission filings. Five-year trend: declining.

What percentage of SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM's spending goes to charitable activities? +

Approximately 72% of total expenditure went to charitable activities in the latest filed year. Fundraising was 28% and combined overhead (fundraising plus governance) was 29%.

Are SIR JOHN SOANE'S 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 SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM based? +

SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM is listed at London · UK-wide · WC2A 3BP and operates UK-wide, focused on children & youth.

How does CharityCompare score SIR JOHN SOANE'S 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 SIR JOHN SOANE'S 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 SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM with other charities? +

Use our free compare tool to put SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM side-by-side with other UK charities on scores, finances, and filing status.