How many charities are registered in Dorset?

According to the Charity Commission Full Register daily extract dated June 2026, 2,387 active registered charities operate in Dorset, giving a density of 62.3 charities per 10,000 residents.

What is Dorset's Gera Civic Vitality Index score?

Dorset scores 91.7/100 on the Gera Civic Vitality Index — a Very High rating. This reflects its charities-per-10k score (100/100), income-density score (82.2/100), and cause-diversity score (89.65/100). The composite is weighted 45/35/20.

What types of charities are most common in Dorset?

The five most common cause categories for charities in Dorset are: Education/training, General Charitable Purposes, Arts/culture/heritage/science, Amateur Sport, The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives. Categories are from the Charity Commission's "What" classification system covering 17 cause groups.

How much charitable income is raised in Dorset?

Active charities in Dorset reported a combined latest income of £1.2bn (£31.5m per 10,000 residents). Income figures come from each charity's most recent annual return to the Charity Commission.

What does the Gera Civic Vitality Index measure?

The GCVI combines active charities per 10,000 population, charitable income density per 10,000 population, and cause-mix diversity (Shannon entropy across 17 Charity Commission cause categories). A score of 100 represents the highest-observed value in England and Wales; 0 is the lowest. The full formula and weights are on the methodology page.

GeraNexus · Civic Data · Dorset

Dorset — Charity Density & Civic Vitality

2,387 active registered charities · 62.3 per 10,000 residents · GCVI 91.7/100 (Very High)

How many charities are in Dorset and what is its civic vitality score?

As of the June 2026 Charity Commission daily extract, Dorset has 2,387 active registered charities (62.3 per 10,000 residents) with a combined income of £1.2bn. Its Gera Civic Vitality Index score is 91.7/100 — a Very High rating.

Source:Charity Commission — Full Register Daily Extract·as of June 2026updated monthly (last: 20 June 2026)

Gera Civic Vitality Index91.7 / 100Very High — vs national average 51/100How this index is calculated

Active Charities2,38762.3 per 10k residents

Total Charitable Income£1.2bn£31.5m per 10k residents

GCVI component breakdown

Gera Civic Vitality Index — component scores for Dorset (June 2026)
Component	Raw value	Score (0–100)	Weight
Charities per 10,000 population	62.3	100/100	45%
Charitable income per 10,000 population	£31.5m	82.2/100	35%
Cause-mix diversity (Shannon index)	0.896	89.65/100	20%
GCVI (composite)	—	91.7/100	—

Top cause categories in Dorset

Most common Charity Commission "What" cause categories for active charities in this area:

1Education/training
2General Charitable Purposes
3Arts/culture/heritage/science
4Amateur Sport
5The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives

Compare to other local authorities

Filter and rank all 172 LA areas. Click any row to see its full profile.

Min GCVI:0+

Showing 20 of 172 local authorities

#	Local Authority	GCVI	Charities	Per 10k	Income
1	Rutland	97.9	391	95.0	£202.5m
2	City Of London	97.9	775	714.5	£769.1m
3	Windsor And Maidenhead	97.6	817	52.8	£691.2m
4	Gwynedd	97.5	631	53.7	£435.3m
5	Bath And North East Somerset	97.1	1,013	51.8	£727.4m
6	West Berkshire	93.8	986	60.8	£546.5m
7	Ceredigion	92.6	345	48.2	£474.1m
8	Dorset	91.7	2,387	62.3	£1.2bn
9	Bedford	91.5	1,173	62.6	£582.5m
10	Denbighshire	91.2	450	46.6	£397.1m
11	Reading	89.3	866	49.5	£566.5m
12	Isle Of Anglesey	87.2	298	43.2	£258.0m
13	Herefordshire	81.2	1,095	58.0	£411.2m
14	Bracknell Forest	79.4	543	42.8	£390.4m
15	Gateshead	78.4	905	45.8	£518.8m
16	Wiltshire	77.8	2,427	47.0	£1.3bn
17	Hackney	77.8	1,125	43.0	£764.2m
18	Cheshire West & Chester	77.5	1,665	46.0	£913.2m
19	Oxfordshire	75.7	3,152	42.7	£2.0bn
20	Shropshire	75.3	1,514	46.3	£748.2m

Frequently asked questions

How many charities are registered in Dorset?: According to the Charity Commission Full Register daily extract dated June 2026, 2,387 active registered charities operate in Dorset, giving a density of 62.3 charities per 10,000 residents.
What is Dorset's Gera Civic Vitality Index score?: Dorset scores 91.7/100 on the Gera Civic Vitality Index — a Very High rating. This reflects its charities-per-10k score (100/100), income-density score (82.2/100), and cause-diversity score (89.65/100). The composite is weighted 45/35/20.
What types of charities are most common in Dorset?: The five most common cause categories for charities in Dorset are: Education/training, General Charitable Purposes, Arts/culture/heritage/science, Amateur Sport, The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives. Categories are from the Charity Commission's "What" classification system covering 17 cause groups.
How much charitable income is raised in Dorset?: Active charities in Dorset reported a combined latest income of £1.2bn (£31.5m per 10,000 residents). Income figures come from each charity's most recent annual return to the Charity Commission.
What does the Gera Civic Vitality Index measure?: The GCVI combines active charities per 10,000 population, charitable income density per 10,000 population, and cause-mix diversity (Shannon entropy across 17 Charity Commission cause categories). A score of 100 represents the highest-observed value in England and Wales; 0 is the lowest. The full formula and weights are on the methodology page.

Contains public sector information published by Charity Commission for England and Wales and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Charity Commission — Full Register Daily Extract (June 2026, published 2026-06-20).

High-GCVI areas to compare

Rutland — GCVI 97.9 City Of London — GCVI 97.9 Windsor And Maidenhead — GCVI 97.6 Gwynedd — GCVI 97.5

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