Trust in charities bounces back whilst faith in banks wilts

• Two thirds (65%) of British adults claim they trust charities, according to latest figures (Nov 2008)
• This 23 percentage point rise since July 2007 marks the largest increase in trust in any kind of public institution
• Banks show nine percentage point slump in public confidence over the same period
• “Public and voluntary sectors appear trustworthy compared with failing private sector, epitomised by propped-up banks,” touts Saxton
• “Happily, despite downturn, public probably trusts a charity with its money before a bank”, exhorts Saxton

Public trust in charities jumped a sizable 23 percentage points (from 42% to 65%) between a July 2007 low-point and Nov 2008, the biggest “bounce-back” of any type of major British public body or institution - according to latest figures released today (see attached summary slides Trust in public bodies Jan 09 (27.02KB) ).

Leading not for profit sector think tank and research consultancy’s nfpSynergy’s Charity Awareness Monitor surveys a representative sample of 1000 16+ year olds throughout mainland Britain every year, asking which British institutions they trust most. To double-check these latest findings, nfpSynergy asked this question in Nov 2008, as well as July 2008 – just to confirm the trend.

The new figures show charities (65%) rise from 6th to 4th place in the rankings since a July 2007 nadir - enjoying the largest (23%) hike, since that low-point, of all major public institutions suggested in the survey – though still lagging behind Armed Forces (76%), NHS (70%), and Schools (67%) in terms of public confidence. Charities are now trailed by Scouts & Guides (63%), Police (62%) and Royal Mail (52%).

Whilst most public bodies and institutions, even the Government, have enjoyed an overall gain in public confidence since July 2007, trust in the banks plummeted from 26% in July 2007 to 17% in Nov 2008.

nfpSynergy’s Driver of Ideas, Joe Saxton, said:
“These latest figures (Nov 2008) should encourage a charity sector facing obvious challenges in the economic downturn. Two thirds (65%) of British adults now claim they trust our charities. Back in July 2007, only two in five said they did. No other sort of public institution has enjoyed a greater boost in public confidence over this period, despite a general trend upwards across nearly all public institutions – a trend doubtless partly due to the public and voluntary sectors appearing distinctly trustworthy compared with a failing private sector, as epitomised by collapsed or propped-up banks. Indeed, banks were one of the few British institutions to suffer a loss in public confidence since July 2007, slumping nine percentage points by November 2008. Happily, despite the economic downturn, the public might just trust a charity with its money before a bank!”

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MEDIA INTERVIEWS: To interview nfpSynergy’s Joe Saxton about the significance of these latest findings or the Charity Awareness Monitor itself, please contact:
Adrian Gillan, T: 0207 6 22 99 11; M: 0774 086 7215; E: adrian@gillanmedia.com

Notes to editors:
• nfpSynergy
nfpSynergy (www.nfpsynergy.net) is the UK’s only think-tank and research consultancy dedicated to the charity sector and not for profit issues. It provides ideas, insights and information to help voluntary and community organisations thrive in an ever-changing world. Regularly harvesting the social and charity-related views of public and parliament, media and business - not to mention not for profit organisations themselves - nfpSynergy has a vast and ever-growing knowledge pool from which to extract and deliver insights.

• Joe Saxton
As well as being Driver of Ideas at nfpSynergy – the leading not for profit sector think tank and research consultancy he founded back in 2002 - Joe Saxton was until recently chair (2005-2008) at the Institute of Fundraising; and is currently chair at student environment and development campaign group, People & Planet, as well as chair of CharityComms, the new professional body for not for profit communicators.

Named by The Guardian (2003) as one of the 100 most influential people vis-à-vis UK social policy, Joe was voted the most influential person in UK fundraising by Professional Fundraising magazine in 2005, 2006, 2007 & 2008. The Evening Standard named him one of the 1000 most influential people in London in both 2007 and 2008. In 2008 he was also named as one of PR Week’s 500 most influential people in the UK communications sector.