Intelligent Giving

DREAM BELIEVERS LEAVE US IN THE DARK

Who can resist helping terminally sick kids fulfil their dreams? In the past 20 years Dreams has helped over 3000 children, and in 2006/07 alone it fulfilled more than 300 dreams. Yet in spite of ticking many of our boxes its annual report is uninformative and doesn't give enough detail of the charity's achievements, or the benefit its activities bring to children it helps. More financial commentary would also not go amiss.

Read the charity's reply

QUALITY OF REPORTING What is this?	62%
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?	Medium
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?	Under £60k
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.
RESERVES WOULD LAST... What is this?	10 months
If income dried up, how long could work continue? 3-12 months is normal. Less may be precarious. 12+ months may be over-cautious (or if very high, may represent the value of the charity's property).
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 take our word for it...

• The charity's website
• GuideStar summary
• Charity Commission link to annual report

National charity, Dreams Come True was formed in 1988 with the aim of bringing joy and happiness into the lives of terminally and seriously ill children, by fulfiling their most precious dreams. In that time, we have made the dreams come true of just over 3000 children.
From the thrill of meeting a favourite celebrity, to enchanting moments swimming with dolphins, to meeting the magical characters of Disney, the gift of a dream is precious.