New Research: 2026 Charity Brand Barometer Goes Live
The UK’s Top 50 Charities ranked
PRESS RELEASE 10th JUNE 2026
Vision One Launches the New UK Charity Brand Barometer to Benchmark the Nation’s Leading Charity Brands
New research measures the trajectory across the UK’s top 50 charity brands.
Leading market research agency Vision One has launched the inaugural Charity Brand Barometer, a comprehensive benchmark of the UK’s leading charity brands designed to help organisations understand their position, monitor performance and strengthen engagement with supporters.
The new annual study ranks the UK’s top 50 charities using a proprietary framework that measures key indicators of brand success, including Awareness, Support and Brand Momentum.
Developed from independent research conducted among 3,000 UK adults, the Charity Brand Barometer provides one of the most comprehensive assessments of charity brand performance available in the UK today.
At a time when charities are competing for attention in an increasingly crowded marketplace, the Charity Brand Barometer offers valuable insight into which organisations are successfully building recognition, support, and relevance with the public. It also uniquely highlights which charities have momentum.
Cancer Research UK secured the number one position in the brand rankings, closely followed by Macmillan Cancer Support and the British Heart Foundation. Yet while the top positions remain firmly held by long-established healthcare charities, the broader rankings reveal changing consumer priorities. Mental health and wellbeing charities are gaining ground, achieving higher levels of awareness, relevance and momentum than many traditional causes, signalling a significant shift in the issues that resonate most strongly with the public today. The ranking features a mix of household names and emerging organisations, highlighting not only established leaders but also charities demonstrating strong growth and momentum among UK audiences.
Tony Lewis, CEO of Vision One Research, said:
“Charities today face significant challenges in attracting attention, building trust and maintaining supporter engagement. In many respects, they operate in one of the most competitive brand environments in the UK.
“The Charity Brand Barometer was created to provide charities with an independent benchmark of brand performance. It enables organisations to understand where they stand today, identify opportunities for growth and track changes in public perception over time.
“While fundraising performance remains important, a strong brand is often the foundation upon which long-term support, advocacy and loyalty are built.”
The launch follows wider research undertaken by Vision One, which explored public attitudes towards charities, donations and trust. The findings highlighted the importance of strong, recognisable brands in helping charities connect with supporters and stand out in a crowded sector.
The Charity Brand Barometer is intended to become an annual benchmark for charity leaders, trustees, marketers, and fundraising professionals seeking to understand how their organisation compares against the sector’s strongest brands.
Vision One plans to expand the Barometer in the coming years, providing trend analysis and deeper insights into the factors driving charity brand success.
Read more about the Charity Brand Barometer and download the Top 50 rankings at https://visionone.co.uk/sectors/charities-research/charity-brand-barometer/
