BIG CHANGES FOR VICTIMS' CARER

This largely government-funded outfit provides support, money and information to victims of crime and court witnesses. In 2007-08, it underwent major restructuring, with its old network of regional member-charities being replaced with a single national body, with the aim of making Victim Support more effective. It also started to increase the quality of its services, with longer opening hours and more practical help on offer. The annual report provides good detail of these changes, but should do more to explain how the charity has made a difference to victims' lives.

Read the charity's reply

QUALITY OF REPORTING What is this?	71 %
How much info does the charity want to share? This score, taken from our search for 43 key points in the annual report, gives the answer. Top mark is 100%. Anything over 70% is a good effort.
SIZE OF CHARITY... What is this?	Large
We only profile the largest charities in England & Wales, and our sizes are relative to the largest and smallest among them. So where we describe a charity as 'Small', it is still much larger than the national average.
HIGHEST SALARY What is this?	£100k to £149k
Taken from the vague bandings given in annual reports; note that 'Under £60k' could be £9k or £59k. Nonetheless the number of bars should roughly correlate with the 'Size of charity' bars.
ETHICAL INVESTMENT POLICY What is this?	Unknown
We asked the charity if it has an ethical investment policy. If yes, it gets an angel. Those with no policy but which don't invest in tobacco/arms get a halo. Those without investments, or who didn't respond, appear neutral. Those with stakes in arms/tobacco get a fallen angel.

But don't just take our word for it...

• Victim Support's website
• The Big Give project information
• Charity Commission entry and link to Victim Support's annual report

Victim Support is a charity that helps over 1.7 million victims and witnesses of a crime each year. In 2008 its old network of 90 regional member charities across England and Wales are merging to form a single national charity. While this is going on Victim Support is also updating its services for victims of crime. Victim Support needs development funding to help keep pace with social and cultural changes relating to crime.