research shows public trust is high
Charity Commission research has indicated that the public is
becoming increasingly interested in how charities' finances are
managed and how effective charities are.
The research shows that 42% of people say that the most
important element that affects whether or not they trust a charity
is whether a reasonable proportion of a charity's income reaches
the end cause. People are also more likely to trust a charity where
they or friends or family have had experience of them. General
trust and confidence in charities is fairly high, with a 6.6 out of
10 rating.
A similar survey undertaken in 2008 showed that charities'
ability to make a difference to the causes they worked for was the
most important factor in influencing trust.
The research also shows that:
- the proportion of people reporting high levels of trust and
confidence in charities has increased by five percentage points
(from 36% to 41%) since 2008
- almost all those asked (96%) agree that it is important to them
that charities provide the public with information about how they
spend their money
- almost all those asked (98%) believe the role of the Charity
Commission is essential, very or fairly important
- people who are familiar with the Charity Commission have a
greater degree of confidence in charities the most common reason
why some charities are trusted less is 'not knowing how their money
is spent'.
The Chair of the Charity Commission, Dame Suzi Leather, said
that she was delighted that public trust and confidence in
charities remains so high, at a time when donations from the public
are becoming increasingly important following public spending cuts.
She added that "The report indicates that people are becoming more
interested in knowing how charities spend their donations.
Charities will need to respond to more discriminating donors by
explaining their spending decisions to the public and by
demonstrating what they achieve."
Dame Suzi also said that she hoped that the research would
encourage charities to be even more careful to tell the public how
they use their funds in order to make a difference to the causes
they work for, ensuring that the current high levels of public
trust and confidence are maintained and improved.
Click here to view
the full report of the Public Trust and Confidence Survey.
Click here to view
the Charity Commission's initial analysis of the report.
