Survey finds people trust the royal family more than charities
Public trust in charities has dropped significantly over the past year according to a third sector thinktank.
An NFP Synergy survey ranked charities as the seventh most trusted British institution being overtaken by schools, small businesses and the royal family from the previous year’s findings.
It’s hard not to wonder whether the revelations over chief executive pay and some of the stories about alleged donations to terror groups in Syria have played their part
The public’s trust in charities has fallen by 10 percentage points in the last year with only 56% of people now trusting charities ‘quite a lot’ or ‘a great deal', compared to 66% in 2013.
Head of NFP Synergy Joe Saxton said: “Our research shows that trust in charities is highly volatile and can never be taken for granted.
“Having seen a rise in trust in 2012 and 2013, it has fallen from 66% to 56% this year. That’s the bad news and it’s hard not to wonder whether the revelations over chief executive pay and some of the stories about alleged donations to terror groups in Syria have played their part.”
Trust in charities this year is the second lowest it has been since 2007 leading to the thinktank examining ways charities can win back public faith.
Its research showed seven out of 10 people wanted every new charity to be scrutinised by a regulator before it was approved. Just under that number said every charity should publish its accounts on the regulator’s website and review its costs every year to ensure best value.
Around 60% of people wanted to see charities chased to submit their accounts on time and forced to declare how many staff are paid over £60,000.
The Scouts and Guides were not included as charities in the survey and they sit separately on the table with 64%. The armed forces continue to top the poll with 70% despite a drop of 8% from last year.
Political parties (12%) and government (20%) came bottom of the poll, while just 28% of people said they trusted the Fundraising Standards Board and the same number had never heard of it.
Saxton added: “The good news is that our research shows that there are ways that every charity can reassure people that a donation is well spent.
“Charities need to scream and shout about how they are regulated as it’s a practical way that charities can try and boost their trust levels.”
