Public trust in charities increases, according to new research

(Immediate Release - 21May 2008)

Public trust and confidence in charities has increased in the last three years, according to new research conducted by Ipsos MORI and commissioned by The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales.

More people are giving time and goods to charity now than said they did three years ago as public trust has increased. Overall public trust and confidence in charities is measured as a mean score out of 10, which has increased from 6.3 in 2005 to 6.6 in 2008. A third of the public (35%) give charities a trust rating of eight out of ten or above.

According to the report 2008 Study into Public Trust and Confidence in Charities published today;

• nearly 1 in 5 people (18%) say they have given more than £200 to charity in the last year;
• nearly half of the public (47%) say they have given goods and
• one in three (36%) people say they, or someone they know, are actively involved with charities (either as an employee, trustee or volunteer)

all increases from the last time the same survey was conducted in 2005.

The majority of people (85%) say they have given money to charity within the last year.

The survey shows that of those listed, only doctors and the police score higher than charities with the public for trust and confidence, and that the public trust charities more than several bodies including social services, banks and central and local Government.

A third (35%) say that ‘charities making a positive difference to the cause they work for’ is the most important quality in engendering trust and confidence, while 71% of people agree that charities are effective at bringing about social change.

The research also outlines the most common reasons for trusting some charities either more or less than others. Asked if there are any specific charities they trusted more or less, and asked to give a reason, the most common reason for trusting a charity more (at 25%) is people having experienced or seen for themselves what the charity does, or that they believe in its cause (19%).

Dame Suzi Leather, Chair of the Charity Commission said;

“This increase in trust in charities is very good news for charities, their donors, beneficiaries and the public in general. The fact that more people are giving time and goods is also a clear sign of how much charities are valued and respected, and that people want to invest their time and effort in them.

Charities must take note of how the public view them. It’s clearly important to people on the street that charities are open and transparent about how they operate, what they spend and how they fundraise.”

The Charity Commission is keen to ensure that there is wide dialogue on the research, and intends to hold a seminar to discuss the findings in more detail later this year.

Fundraising and accountability in charities

There is near-total agreement from the public about accountability of charities, with 96% saying it is important to them that charities provide public information on how they spend their money. Not knowing how a charity spends its money is the top factor why people trust some charities less (at 26%). However, nearly half (46%) of donors say they are donating via direct debits and standing orders, allowing charities to claim extra money from gift aid.

Support and generosity towards charities has increased even though some charity fundraising appears not to be popular. One in 10 (11%) cited fundraising techniques they didn’t like as the reason they trusted a specific charity less than others, and half of respondents (50%) say they believe that charities these days are using more dubious fundraising techniques.

More people are checking if charities are genuine before donating, but fewer people (down from 40% in 2005 to 33% in 2008) are asking charity collectors for identification. A significant number of respondents (3 in 5) still believe that charities are spending too much on salaries and administration.

Previous indications had suggested that overall levels of trust and confidence in charities amongst people from a black or minority ethnic (BME) background might be lower than those of a white background 1. To test this, a booster sample of interviews with respondents from BME backgrounds was added, and showed that actually there is no statistical difference in the overall level of trust and confidence in charities according to ethnicity. However, people of a black or minority ethnic background are less likely to have benefited from a charity - around a quarter (26%) say they have received advice, money or support from a charity, compared to 2 in 5 people (40%) from a white background.

In addition, awareness and familiarity with the Charity Commission is increasing, with just over half of people saying they have heard of the Commission (54%, up from 46% in 2005). Ninety percent of people surveyed said that the Charity Commission’s role is ’essential’ or ‘very important’.

Ends.

PR18/08

1. Based on the 2005 Public Trust and Confidence survey conducted by Opinion Leader Research on behalf of the Charity Commission which included a sample of 106 interviews with people of black or minority ethnic background.

Notes to editors:

Public Trust and Confidence in Charities 2008

The survey was conducted by Ipsos MORI between the 8th and 24th of February 2008. A representative sample of 1,008 adults aged 18 + in England and Wales was conducted by telephone using Random Digit Dialling.

A boost of 202 interviews was also conducted by telephone amongst people of black or minority ethnic (BME) background using Random Digital Dialling (RDD) leads from areas of BME incidence of 15% or more, in order to enable robust comparison in the results according to ethnicity.

Results according to ethnicity are based on the 1,008 main tranche of interviews plus the 202 ethnicity boost sample interviews. All other results are based on the 1,008 interviews.

Data have been weighted to the known population profile of England and Wales.

1. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator for charitable activity in England and Wales. See www.charitycommission.gov.ukfor further information.
2. The report, 2008 Charity Commission Study into Public Trust and Confidence in Charities is available with an executive summary on the Charity Commission website from Wednesday 21st May.