Islamic Relief vs Human Appeal
In short: Islamic Relief Worldwide is the international office of a federation whose independent members also pass it funds. Human Appeal is a UK charity working through its own hubs, field offices and local partners, with one-to-one orphan sponsorship.
Last reviewed by CharityCompare editorial.
Both run seasonal Ramadan and Qurbani programmes alongside emergency and orphan work, so look at how each is organised. Islamic Relief Worldwide is the international office of a federation of independent members. Human Appeal works through hubs in Pakistan and Turkey, other field offices and local partners. Their reach totals are for 2025 and 2024 respectively and follow different counting rules.
Islamic Relief vs Human Appeal: key differences
| What to compare | ISLAMIC RELIEF WORLDWIDE | HUMAN APPEAL |
|---|---|---|
| Registered work and operating model | Emergency response, orphan care, education, health, water and livelihoods, run from the federation’s international office. | Humanitarian relief, sustainable development, seasonal programmes and child welfare, through its own offices and local partners. |
| What to consider | Its 2025 income included £138 million from member offices abroad. Its 13,132,741 reach total is lower than the sum of its programme tables because some people received more than one intervention. | In Gaza it reports project outputs rather than unique individuals, and it left one Ramadan figure out of its total to avoid double counting. Its report refers to both country offices and overseas branches, so check how an overseas office relates to the UK charity. |
| Access and practical checks | UK fundraising under the Islamic Relief UK name is for Islamic Relief Worldwide (charity 328158). Check the appeal’s purpose and whether the gift is restricted. | Orphan sponsorship is one-to-one and open-ended; its website says it sponsors orphans in developing countries, not the UK. To give Zakat through sponsorship, the website says you must say so when donating. |
| Sourced result or evidence gap | 13,132,741: People directly reached. 2025, 41 countries. A charity-reported output that allows for people reached by more than one intervention. Its programme table also lists 100,283 people reached through orphan sponsorship. | 6,240,711: People helped. 2024, 30 countries, including 33,103 in the UK. A charity-reported output; in Gaza it counts project outputs because unique individuals could not be counted. It also reports 35,607 orphans sponsored in 14 countries. |
What the latest filings show
Figures from the accounts held in our dated dataset; the live register may contain newer filings. Ratios can span multiple years, as labelled. Clarity scores use our methodology. Cost to raise £1 of donations is not part of the score; legacies make it lumpy, and it is withheld where trading costs would distort it (how it works).
| Metric | ISLAMIC RELIEF WORLDWIDE | HUMAN APPEAL |
|---|---|---|
| Latest accounts year in our snapshot | 2024 | 2024 |
| Financial snapshot refreshed | 2026-09-06 | 2026-09-06 |
| Ratio reporting window | 3-yr avg | 3-yr avg |
| Overall score | 93/100 (5★) | 78/100 (4★) |
| Accountability & Finance | 100/100 | 100/100 |
| Spend on charitable activities | 91% of expenditure | 73% of expenditure |
| Fundraising efficiency | £14.9 total income per £1 fundraising (2022–2024, disclosed years) | £4.4 total income per £1 fundraising (2022–2024, disclosed years) |
| Cost to raise £1 of donations | 8p per £1 (2024) · 7p over 2022–2024 | 18p per £1 (2024) · 24p over 2022–2024 |
| Latest income | £276m | £90m |
| Fundraising spend | 7% of expenditure | 25% of expenditure |
| Reserves | 2 months | 1 month |
| Accounts filing | On time | On time |
| Data confidence | high | high |
| Charity number | 328158 | 1154288 |
ISLAMIC RELIEF WORLDWIDE on the register · HUMAN APPEAL on the register
Considering Islamic Relief Worldwide
- You want to give to the federation’s international office, which pools UK donations with funds from member offices abroad.
- You want broad programme coverage across 41 countries, including orphan sponsorship.
Considering Human Appeal
- You want one-to-one orphan sponsorship, where you can choose a child or have one assigned.
- You want some UK work too: it reports helping 33,103 people in the UK in 2024.
Islamic Relief vs Human Appeal: questions answered
Islamic Relief or Human Appeal: which should I support?
There is no universal winner. Both run emergency, orphan and seasonal programmes; Islamic Relief Worldwide is the international office of a federation, while Human Appeal works through its own hubs, field offices and local partners. Choose the programme and delivery route you prefer, then check the appeal and accounts period. A financial rating is not an impact assessment.
How does Human Appeal define an orphan for sponsorship?
Its orphan sponsorship page defines an orphan as a child without a father or both parents and says it sponsors orphans in developing countries, not the UK. Its 2024 report counts 35,607 orphans sponsored across 14 countries through an open-ended, one-to-one programme.
Can I compare their people-reached totals?
Only with care. Islamic Relief Worldwide’s 13,132,741 is for 2025 and allows for people reached more than once; Human Appeal’s 6,240,711 is for 2024 and uses project outputs in Gaza, where unique people could not be counted. Different years and counting rules mean the gap is not a measure of effectiveness.
How we score charities +
The Clarity Score is a 100-point rating from UK regulator filings (Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR and CCNI). Four pillars — Accountability & Transparency (40), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10) — each scored on a continuous scale, not pass/fail cutoffs. A statutory inquiry sets the score to 0 automatically.
Accountability & Transparency
Scored from filings
40 points — filing history (15), trustee oversight (15, scaling up to a board of three or more), declared policies (10).
Financial Health
Scored from filings
30 points — reserves (15, full marks 3–24 months, tapering on both sides), income stability (10), liabilities to assets (5, scaling down as debt rises).
Financial Efficiency
Scored from filings
20 points — program expense ratio and fundraising cost, each on a graduated scale (not a single cutoff). Kept at 20% of the total: financial-ratio scoring alone is not a reliable effectiveness signal (see "why not just an overhead ratio?" below).
Community Support
Scored from filings
10 points — volunteer-to-staff ratio from Charity Commission workforce data, scaling continuously up to a 2:1 ratio.
Overall score
Sum of all pillar points. Display stars use the same bands as the labels: 90–100 → 5★ Exceptional; 75–89 → 4★ Good; 60–74 → 3★ Needs improvement; 1–59 → 2★ Poor; 0 → not rated.