--- title: "The Wildlife Trusts vs National Trust: Key Differences" description: "The Wildlife Trusts vs National Trust compared: a federation of 46 independent local Trusts and their central charity vs one national charity, 2024–25 reports." source: https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/compare/wildlife-trusts-vs-national-trust retrieved: 2026-10-23T14:58:21.408Z date_note: "Retrieval time is not the filing, register-extract or editorial-review date; cite those dates from the content." license: "Charity data © Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0" --- [RS](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/charity/royal-society-of-wildlife-trusts) [ROYAL SOCIETY OF WILDLIFE TRUSTS](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/charity/royal-society-of-wildlife-trusts) 78/100 4★ Reg. 207238 compared with [TN](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/charity/the-national-trust) [THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR PLACES OF HISTORIC INTEREST OR NATURAL BEAUTY](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/charity/the-national-trust) 97/100 5★ Reg. 205846 # The Wildlife Trusts vs National Trust **In short:** The Wildlife Trusts are 46 independent local charities; the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts at the centre coordinates, campaigns and passes on grants. The National Trust is one charity caring for places in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Last reviewed 23 October 2026 by CharityCompare editorial. Giving to the Wildlife Trusts means choosing between your local Trust and the central charity. Each of the 46 Wildlife Trusts is an independent charity; the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts regranted £18 million in 2024-25, £14.9 million of it to Trusts. The National Trust is one charity, with 2.61 million memberships and about 250,000 hectares of land in 2024–25. ## The Wildlife Trusts vs National Trust: key differences | What to compare | ROYAL SOCIETY OF WILDLIFE TRUSTS | THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR PLACES OF HISTORIC INTEREST OR NATURAL BEAUTY | | --- | --- | --- | | Registered work and operating model | Central charity of The Wildlife Trusts’ federation, supporting 46 independent Trusts and running grant programmes for nature’s recovery. | One charity looking after historic places, countryside and coast in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. | | What to consider | Federation-wide figures, such as more than 944,000 members and 38,000 volunteers, are from 2023-24 and cover all 46 Trusts, not this charity alone. Much of its £43.7 million income is passed on as grants. | Its places and accounts sit in one charity, and its 2.61 million memberships cover 5.35 million individuals. Its report says unrestricted income is driven in large part by membership and visitors. | | Access and practical checks | Each local Wildlife Trust is a separate charity with its own legal identity, so check the charity number of the Trust you give to. The central charity’s own members are the 46 Trusts. | Its places are in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; check opening times and membership terms before visiting. | | Sourced result or evidence gap | £14.9 million: Grants passed to Wildlife Trusts. 2024-25. A financial flow, not an outcome; through its completed Network for Nature programme, 24 Trusts created or restored more than 2,500 hectares of habitat. | 896 miles: Coastline it protects, with about 250,000 hectares of land. 2024–25. A measure of estate size, not of conservation results; it also reports 32,200 hectares of priority habitat created or restored against its 2025 target. | ## 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](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/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](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/methodology#cost-to-raise)). | Metric | ROYAL SOCIETY OF WILDLIFE TRUSTS | THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR PLACES OF HISTORIC INTEREST OR NATURAL BEAUTY | | --- | --- | --- | | Latest accounts year in our snapshot | 2025 | 2025 | | Financial snapshot refreshed | 2026-09-06 | 2026-09-06 | | Ratio reporting window | 3-yr avg | 3-yr avg | | Overall score | 78/100 (4★) | 97/100 (5★) | | Accountability & Finance | 100/100 | 100/100 | | Spend on charitable activities | 97% of expenditure | 91% of expenditure | | Fundraising efficiency | £50.4 total income per £1 fundraising (2023–2025, disclosed years) | £10.2 total income per £1 fundraising (2023–2025, disclosed years) | | Cost to raise £1 of donations | 7p per £1 (2025) | Not shown for 2025: trading income was 96% of donations | | Latest income | £44m | £766m | | Fundraising spend | 3% of expenditure | 9% of expenditure | | Reserves | 1 month | 25 months | | Accounts filing | On time | On time | | Data confidence | high | high | | Charity number | 207238 | 205846 | [ROYAL SOCIETY OF WILDLIFE TRUSTS on the register](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=207238&subId=0) · [THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR PLACES OF HISTORIC INTEREST OR NATURAL BEAUTY on the register](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=205846&subId=0) ## Considering The Wildlife Trusts - You want to support wildlife conservation through a local, independent Wildlife Trust. - You want to back national campaigning and grant programmes for nature’s recovery through the central charity. [Full profile →](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/charity/royal-society-of-wildlife-trusts) ## Considering National Trust - You want to support historic houses and gardens as well as countryside and coast. - You prefer one national charity with one set of accounts. [Full profile →](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/charity/the-national-trust) ## The Wildlife Trusts vs National Trust: questions answered ### The Wildlife Trusts or National Trust: which should I support? There is no universal winner. The Wildlife Trusts are a federation of 46 independent local charities with a central charity; the National Trust is one charity caring for historic places, countryside and coast. Decide whether you want to give locally or nationally, then check the accounts period. A financial rating is not an impact assessment. ### Is my local Wildlife Trust part of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts? Not as one charity. The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts says each of the 46 Wildlife Trusts is an independent charity with its own legal identity, and the Trusts are its corporate members. Its accounts consolidate only its trading subsidiary, not the Trusts. ### Do the Wildlife Trusts and the National Trust work together? The RSPB’s 2024–25 report mentions independent research it commissioned with the National Trust and The Wildlife Trusts, and the Woodland Trust reports a rainforest partnership with Devon Wildlife Trust and the National Trust. They remain separate charities. 100 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. [Full methodology →](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/methodology) 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. [Compare these charities side-by-side](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/compare-charities?ids=royal-society-of-wildlife-trusts,the-national-trust) [Back to compare](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/compare-charities) **Information only** — not donation advice. We do not tell you where to give. Sources: [Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts: Registered activities, identity and accounts](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=207238&subId=0), [Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts: Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25 (filed with the Charity Commission)](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/207238/accounts-and-annual-returns), [National Trust: Registered activities, identity and accounts](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=205846&subId=0), [National Trust: Annual Report 2024–2025 (March 2024 to February 2025)](https://nt.global.ssl.fastly.net/binaries/content/assets/website/national/pdf/annual-report-2024-25.pdf), [RSPB: Annual Report 2024–25 (joint research with the National Trust and The Wildlife Trusts)](https://base-prod.rspb-prod.magnolia-platform.com/dam/jcr:14cc15f3-fa4f-434b-9f8a-98bd12b7be59/Annual%20Report%20-%202024-25.pdf), [Woodland Trust: Report and Accounts 2024–2025 (rainforest partnership)](https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/media/bvdedeju/woodland-trust-report-and-accounts-2024-2025.pdf). See also [how we score](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/compare-charities#how-we-score).