# Charity search tool: your views wanted

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/03/23/charity-search-tool-views-wanted/
- Published: 2015-03-23T09:28:06+00:00
- Author: Finbar Cullen

The [Charity Commission](https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission)
has released a [beta version](http://beta.charitycommission.gov.uk/) of its new 
online charity search tool which it believes will make it much easier to find and
understand information about charities. The regulator’s online data is the authoritative
source of information on charities in England and Wales. Registered charities’ details
are viewed online over 6 million times a year.

The Charity Commission reports that improvements in the new charity search tool 
include:

key information will be more prominent, e.g. as income and expenditure and charity
contact details

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easier viewing on mobile phones and tablets

more user-friendly search filtering options

a new option to download filtered searches as a CSV file

a look and feel consistent with other services on GOV.UK

The Charity Commission reports that future planned updates to the beta version will
include additional information from charities’ annual returns, including whether
a charity:

pays its trustees

raises funds from the public and whether it uses a commercial participator to do
so

is a member of FRSB and therefore committed to high fundraising standards

has a trading subsidiary

makes grants to other charities as one of its main activities [that should already
be noted!]

has written policies on safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries, risk management, 
investment or conflicts of interest

is regulated by or registered with other agencies such as Ofsted, Care Quality Commission
and Homes and Communities Agency

The new search tool is being built as a web service on an open data platform. This
encourages transparency and makes it easier for other organisations to develop digital
tools that use charity data. It will be interesting to see what [OpenCharities](http://opencharities.org/)
makes of these developments.

NB The ‘beta’ service is still in development and some functionality may not work
correctly. If you find something that’s broken, please [tell ](https://fundraising.co.uk/2015/03/23/charity-search-tool-views-wanted/usability@charitycommission.gsi.gov.uk)
the Charity Commission.

 

Finbar Cullen, [Research**Plus**](http://www.researchplus.co.uk/)

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