Trust in charities — the hidden stats and opportunities

As others have already reported, the Charity Commission have repeated their research into trust in charities. Unsurprisingly things aren’t looking good considering the year the sector has had.

However, there are a few stats and quotes that are hiding in the depths of the actual report which aren’t being picked out as much. These give some cause for hope or at least present some of the opportunities we have for improving the situation.

Namely, we need to continue to invest in showing people the impact we’re having and tell the stories that illustrate the difference we make.

Three-in-five agree that they trust charities more if they are providing services within their local community.

The importance of familiarity with a specific charity is so strong that only 30% would feel confident donating to a charity they have not heard of previously

Overall, the public are more likely to trust small charities (57%) over large ones (34%) and charities that operate in the UK only (61%) over those that operate internationally (31%)

When asked how important a role they think charities play in society today,
93% of the public still think that charities play a role of either fair, very, or essential importance.

Since 2014, charities have fallen from third place (behind doctors and the police) to fifth place (behind doctors, the police, the social services and the ordinary man/woman in the street) in terms of trust, compared to other sectors / professions.

A third of the public say they, or their friends or family, have benefited from or used the services of a charity.

Respondents spoke about their choices to support charities that provided alternative ways in which to donate: for example, by sending goods rather than money, or by guaranteeing a one-off, no-reply interaction.

Small, well-established, local charities are the most trusted of all; especially when they can clearly show where donations are spent.

“I subscribe to Save the Children. I did used to do one for deaf children, but they just kept phoning and asking for more money all the time. It was £8, and wanted me to go up to £17 a month, and they were just quite irritating.”

“I don’t know where the money’s going. I never know where any of its gone at all. I know there are leaps and bounds in cancer research which I’ve been a beneficiary of. But the rest of the time I don’t know where anything’s gone and it gives me no heart to want to give if they’re not being transparent enough about it. They do [these appeals] every year and they say they raise all this money and they’re still wanting mosquito nets.” [London]”

“It’s different with MacMillan or those type of charities because they have testimonials from people.” [Newcastle]”

Only 32% of the public agree that they trust charities more if they have well-known people as patrons, compared to the 48% who disagree.

“I’d like to donate to charities where I can see the end product. When you’re just putting money in a bucket you don’t know if it’s actually helping.” [Cardiff]”

Of this minority who say their trust has increased, 30% say this is because they began volunteering or working for a charity and 20% say it is because they, or someone they know, are using or experiencing a charity’s services directly.

If an individual, or their family, needed support from a public service, a fifth would be more confident if the service was provided by a charity (20%) compared with 7% who would be less confident.

22% of the public trust charities highly, 66% are neutral and 11% distrust charities

Charities come out top for a caring approach (42%), and rank second for providing best value for money (19%) compared to private companies and public authorities.

[One organisation] send me a booklet every month, saying what they were doing, what they’d achieved, what they were planning to do. That really helped me feel connected to them and I would take some pride in what was happening.” [London]

The most popular reason for trusting one charity over another is that it is well-established (15%), and that donations go where they are intended to (14%)

If they have got to that level of prestige and recognition, they are obviously doing something right, no one has made a scandal out of them.” [survey response]

If I’ve got the opportunity to do so, I’d give a small amount of money to a small charity because it has a bigger impact or it can have a bigger impact on them.” [Newcastle, mixed]

18–24 year olds are also more likely than the average to say they trust charities that receive grants or funding from Government (54% v 42% respectively). This contrasts with the over- 65s, who are more likely to trust charities that do not receive grants or funding from Government (57% v 46% average).

Two-thirds (63%) have visited an art gallery, and 57% say they have attended a youth club provided by a charity — for example Girl Guides, Scouts or Girls or Boys Brigade.