THE GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND ASSOCIATION

Registered charity 209617 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · Wikidata: Q7738454 · Wikipedia · also known as GDBA, GUIDE DOGS · also registered in Scotland as SC038979 (OSCR)

The Association provides guide dogs, mobility and other rehabilitation services to people who are blind and partially sighted. In accordance with its constitution, it provides "additional services and facilities for the relief of blind persons as the Association shall from time to time deem fit".

Objects

THE OBJECTS FOR WHICH THE ASSOCIATION IS ESTABLISHED ARE TO PROMOTE THE HEALTH, EQUALITY AND INDEPENDENCE OF BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED PEOPLE BY:(I) PROVIDING GUIDE DOGS FOR BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED PEOPLE; (II) TRAINING AND EDUCATING BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED PEOPLE IN THE USE OF SUCH GUIDE DOGS; (III) THE RELIEF, PREVENTION AND CURE OF VISION IMPAIRMENT; AND (IV) PROVIDING SUCH SERVICES, FACILITIES AND ACTIVITIES FOR THE BENEFIT OF BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED PEOPLE AS THE ASSOCIATION SHALL FROM TIME TO TIME DEEM FIT

Area of benefit: NOT DEFINED

The charity’s charitable objects and area of benefit, quoted from its governing document as held on the Charity Commission register.

Causes: Disability · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: West Berkshire, South East, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that Guide Dogs achieved a surplus of £22.4 million for the year ended 31 December 2025, driven by a £9.8 million profit on the sale of surplus land. The charity reports unrestricted freely available reserves of £83.3 million, which the Trustees consider to be above their stated policy range of £58.0 million to £74.0 million. The Trustees confirmed that there are adequate resources to continue operating for at least twelve months from the date of signing.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by BDO LLP. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

Policies the charity declares

In its annual return the charity told the Commission that it has the policies listed below. This is self-declared: it is not verified by the Commission or by this site, and it is not evidence of how a policy works in practice.

• Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
• Campaigns and political activity policy and procedures
• Complaints handling
• Complaints policy and procedures
• Conflicting interests
• Engaging external speakers at charity events policy and procedures
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Investing charity funds policy and procedures
• Investment
• Paying staff
• Risk management
• Safeguarding policy and procedures
• Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
• Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
• Social media policy and procedures
• Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
• Trustee expenses policy and procedures
• Volunteer management

From the charity’s annual return (Part A, self-declared)

Answers and figures the charity gave in Part A of its annual return to the Charity Commission. They are self-declared: not verified by the Commission or by this site. Only positive answers and figures are listed; items not listed are simply not shown.

Source: this charity’s annual returns on the Charity Commission register.

In the news

Recent coverage mentioning this charity by name (automated match; headlines belong to their publishers).

• Guide Dogs for the Blind Association has radio advert banned after it breached rules independent.co.uk · 09/03/2016
• Natalie Pinkham becomes ambassador for Guide Dogs for the Blind Association thirdsector.co.uk · 16/04/2013

Public-sector contracts awarded

From the official Contracts Finder and Find a Tender notices (supplier matched by exact registered name). Contract income is distinct from grants.

Property (HM Land Registry)

24 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (11 freehold); recorded price paid £1.3m. All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

Trustpilot: The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association scores 1.8/5 from 15 reviews (source) — reviews usually concern the charity’s shops or services, not its charitable performance.

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook (313,403 likes) · instagram (136K followers)

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/12/2025)

Reported reserves equal ~6.6 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 2.6 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 23.9% of total income — in the top quarter for charities its size (median 3.2%) (benchmarks).

Register events

• Received assets from another charity (10/11/2026) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
• Received assets from another charity (15/10/2026) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
• Received assets from another charity (02/03/2026) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
• Received assets from another charity (28/08/2025) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
• Received assets from another charity (19/05/2025) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
• Received assets from another charity (13/02/2025) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

• Isabel Hudsonchair
• Christiane Antje Birgit Elsenbach
• Helen Farrow
• Jennelle Lisa Tilling
• Kate Crofts
• Kerry Small
• Lynne Victoria Hill
• Mark Alexander Talbot Johnstone
• Pamela Ann Walkden
• Patrick Anthony Moran
• Paul Stevenson
• Ranjit Sondhi CBE · trustee of 6 other charities

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: Northern Ireland · Scotland · Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Common questions

Known funders

Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.

Grants marked “Unverified read” were flagged by automated checks as possibly misread from the funder’s filed accounts. They are listed, but left out of the totals, counts and funder relationships this site computes.

Government & lottery funding

Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).

Funders of similar charities

Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with THE SEEING DOGS ALLIANCE.

• THE SEEING DOGS ALLIANCE income £234k
• SUPPORT DOGS LIMITED income £2.2m
• INTERNATIONAL GUIDE DOG FEDERATION income £313k
• THE AUTISM ASSISTANCE DOGS CHARITY income £905k
• ABILITY DOGS 4 YOUNG PEOPLE IOW income £481k
• DOGS FOR AUTISM income £866k

Side by side with its peers

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.