Research and analysis

Public trust and confidence in charities: analysis of findings

Published 29 June 2012

Applies to England and Wales

Initial Analysis by the Charity Commission

The Commission welcomes the findings of the report conducted by Ipsos MORI. These build on research on trust and confidence in charities conducted in 2005, 2008 and 2010. The research shows that, since 2005, levels of trust and confidence have held up and even increased slightly, despite much uncertainty and change in the environment in which charities operate.

We are delighted that overall trust and confidence in charities remains high, at 6.7 (6.6 in 2010, 6.6 in 2008 and 6.3 in 2005). Charities are amongst the most trusted groups in society, with only doctors and the police being seen as more trusted.

As charity regulator we have a key role to play in protecting the public’s interest in the integrity of charity. Having an understanding of the factors that underpin trust and confidence in charities is essential to our work as regulator and to charities themselves.

We hope that charities will pay close attention to the research findings, and we encourage all charities to read the report. Charities should note that some types of charities are likely to be trusted more by the public than others: for example the report shows that people are more likely to trust charities operating in their local area, and slightly less likely to trust international charities.

The vast majority of the public (96%) say charities play an essential, very important or fairly important role in society. We have noted with particular interest, the significant increase in the proportion of the public who now believe that charities play an essential role in society (30% in 2010 to 37% in 2012). It seems likely that this increase is linked to the public’s awareness of pressures on public funds and the role charities can play during times of need.

We have noted the continued and significant influence fundraising has on public trust and confidence. 67% of the public say that some fundraising methods used by charities make them uncomfortable.

The way in which charities use their funds remains the most important factor relating to trust. Ensuring that a reasonable proportion of donations make it to the end cause (43% of the public selected this as the top factor), and knowing that charities are making a positive difference to the cause they work for is the second most important factor (31%).

Given the findings on public perceptions about how charities raise and spend their money, it is not surprising that there has been a significant increase in the number of people who strongly agree that it is important for charities to explain what they have achieved in a published annual report (66% in 2012 compared with 60% in 2010 and 59% in 2008) and that the vast majority of the public (89%) agree or tend to agree it is important. The Commission’s online Register of Charities plays a vital role in meeting public expectations of accountability and transparency among charities. Completing an annual return and submitting an annual report and accounts to the Charity Commission is a basic requirement in law for most charities.

The requirement to submit an annual report includes demonstrating that a charity has had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. We warmly welcome the increase in the number of people who strongly agree it is crucial that charities demonstrate how they benefit the public. This is up from 58% in 2010 to 63% in 2012. We will be sharing these findings as widely as we can with charities in order to ensure there is a shared understanding and awareness of the public’s expectation of charities, which supports our own belief in the critical role that transparency and openness play in ensuring charity effectiveness.

The findings on trust in charities as service providers are interesting and support the findings from 2010 when this aspect of the survey was first introduced. When asked to choose between charities, private companies or public authorities, the public think that charities would be best at providing a caring approach (47% compared to 40% in 2010).

However, less than one in ten people (7%) think that charities would be best at providing a professional service. This may indicate that some people still view charities being run by ‘amateurs’ and is not necessarily based on direct knowledge or experience. At the same time, the public express concerns about charities spending too much on salaries and administrative costs (59% either strongly agreed or tended to agree that too much was spent on these costs). This indicates a lack of appreciation that charities need to be well managed and may need to operate in a ‘business like’ way to achieve their charitable purposes.

Notwithstanding views about professionalism, the findings indicate an increasing confidence in the work of charities that deliver public services. A quarter of the public (25%) say they would feel more confident if a charity was providing a public service to them or their family rather than another type of service provider. This is a significant increase from 2010 (19%).

Some mixed messages emerge about the role of the media. 22% of people cite media coverage about how charities spend donations as a reason why they think their confidence has decreased in the past two years. But amongst people whose confidence in charities has increased, some attribute this to media stories about how charities spend their donations (8%).

The report also raises another interesting paradox. The most common reason why some charities are trusted less is not knowing how their money is spent (36% of those who trust a particular charity / type of charity less than others; and 16% of those whose trust has decreased in the past two years give this reason). The potential concern for us as regulator and for the charity sector itself is what happens if the public learn more about how their money is spent by charities but disagree with the way it is spent. This is a possibility given that the research showed a high level of public concern about the amount of money charities spend on salaries and administration (59%). We believe that openness and transparency by charities, and the ability to explain how all their expenditure and work supports their cause are crucial in this respect.

We welcome the increase in awareness of the Charity Commission. 55% of people now say they have heard of the Commission, (compared to 46% of people in 2005). There has also been an increase in perceptions of the importance of our role as regulator. When given an explanation of our role, 91% say they personally think it is essential or very important compared to 79% in 2005. Those who feel the Commission’s role is essential also tend to have higher trust in charities in general (mean 6.8 compared to 6.3 amongst those who feel it is fairly important). This means that the increased appreciation of our role is positive news for trust and confidence in charities.

This year’s report from Ipsos MORI provides rich material to reflect on, and a strong evidence base to use in our work to uphold and increase levels of public trust and confidence in charities. We know that we can not do this on our own. We would like to encourage all charities to be aware of and understand the joint responsibility that the charity sector and charity regulator have in protecting the current high levels of public trust and confidence in charities.