Charities are seen as accurate and unbiased sources of information, ranking second after family and friends. People who run charities are also seen as trusted sources to comment on UK policy issues. While charities are trusted to have a positive impact on society, they are less trusted to use personal data wisely. There is a preference for policy decisions to be backed by expert evidence, though ordinary people want their views considered as well. Trust in charities and experts varies between those who voted Leave or Remain in the Brexit referendum.

1. What exactly are charities
trusted to do?
Released July 2017
New research about charities and other bodies as
a source of information, comment and policy

2. 2
The research we have done
• For some time the sector has been keen to understand levels of trust and confidence in charities.
At nfpSynergy we have been measuring levels of trust in charities for over a decade and we now
research trust in charities twice a year.
• However it’s clear that trust in charities is very volatile and in itself is not very meaningful. So we
have started a programme to try and understand what charities are trusted to do, and how they
are trusted compared to other sectors. This is the first report of this new strand of research.
• The research set out in this update was carried out online with 1000 members of the public
representative by age gender and social class. The research was carried out in February of this
year, and in some cases July 2016. The footers of each chart should make clear when the
research was carried out.

3. 3
Summary of research
• Charities are seen as an ‘accurate’ source of information, coming after only ‘family and friends’ out
of a list of ten sources (slides 4 and 5). 65% of the public trusted them a great deal or quite a lot.
• Charities are also seen as an ‘unbiased and impartial’ source of trusted information, again coming
second after ‘family and friends’ (slides 6 and 7). 53% of the public trusted them a great deal or
quite a lot.
• When the public were asked who were trusted sources of commentary on UK policy, people who
run charities were in the top five on the list after healthcare professionals, scientists, and academics
and just above economists. British politicians were fourth from bottom. Charities were trusted a
great deal or quite a lot by 42% of the public, whereas for politicians the figure was just 19%.
(slide 9)
• The figure of 42% is a considerable increase from 2016 when it was 31%. During the same period,
big business has dropped from 26% to 21% as a trusted source of policy commentary (slides 10
and 11)
• Charities are trusted to have a positive impact on society (a great deal or quite a lot) by 64% of the
public. Charities are less trusted to use personal data wisely at only 53% (chart 13).

4. 4
Trust in accuracy of information from different
sources
“To what extent would you trust information that came from the following to be accurate?”
25%
12%
15%
8%
5%
6%
5%
3%
4%
2%
47%
53%
42%
44%
40%
36%
25%
19%
16%
13%
7%
6%
5%
5%
7%
6%
5%
5%
6%
4%
16%
21%
23%
30%
34%
35%
36%
35%
38%
40%
5%
8%
15%
12%
13%
18%
29%
39%
36%
40%
A friend or family member
Charities
The BBC
A TV news channel
A news website
A broadsheet newspaper
The Government
A tabloid newspaper
Social media
A politician
A great deal Quite a lot Not sure Not much Very little
Base: 1,000 adults 16+, Britain | Source: Charity Awareness Monitor, Feb 17, nfpSynergy

5. 5
Trust in accuracy of information from different
sources – by leave/remain
Base: 1,000 adults 16+, Britain | Source: Charity Awareness Monitor, Feb 17, nfpSynergy
“To what extent would you trust information that came from the following to be accurate?” ‘A great deal’ + ‘quite a lot’
77%
58%
50% 50%
41% 39%
30% 26%
17% 15%
69% 71%
57%
67%
52%
45%
31%
19% 20%
15%
A friend or
family
member
Charities A TV news
channel
The BBC A news
website
A
broadsheet
newspaper
The
Government
A tabloid
newspaper
Social media A politician
Leave Remain

6. 6
Trust in impartiality of information from different
sources
“To what extent would you trust information that came from the following to be unbiased and impartial”
17%
11%
12%
7%
5%
4%
4%
4%
4%
3%
40%
42%
34%
34%
30%
27%
16%
16%
15%
10%
8%
6%
6%
6%
7%
7%
6%
7%
6%
6%
24%
28%
29%
36%
39%
38%
36%
34%
35%
33%
11%
13%
19%
17%
19%
23%
39%
39%
40%
48%
A friend or family member
Charities
The BBC
A TV news channel
A news website
A broadsheet newspaper
The Government
Social media
A tabloid newspaper
A politician
A great deal Quite a lot Not sure Not much Very little
Base: 1,000 adults 16+, Britain | Source: Charity Awareness Monitor, Feb 17, nfpSynergy

7. 7
Trust in impartiality of information from different
sources – by leave/remain
Base: 1,000 adults 16+, Britain | Source: Charity Awareness Monitor, Feb 17, nfpSynergy
“To what extent would you trust information that came from the following to be unbiased and impartial?” ‘A great deal’ + ‘quite a lot’
62%
49%
42% 40%
33% 30%
21% 19% 17%
13%
55% 56%
44%
55%
38%
33%
21% 18% 21%
14%
A friend or
family
member
Charities A TV news
channel
The BBC A news
website
A
broadsheet
newspaper
The
Government
A tabloid
newspaper
Social media A politician
Leave Remain

8. 8
Charity experts seen as a trusted
source of policy commentary

9. 9
Trusted, and less trusted, views on UK policy
“How much do you trust the views of the following people when they comment on UK policy?”
17%
18%
10%
8%
8%
7%
5%
3%
4%
3%
3%
3%
3%
3%
3%
49%
44%
40%
34%
33%
27%
28%
22%
18%
18%
18%
16%
14%
13%
12%
24%
28%
33%
38%
37%
40%
36%
47%
32%
35%
42%
32%
37%
36%
33%
9%
9%
13%
15%
17%
18%
23%
20%
29%
32%
29%
37%
31%
32%
36%
2%
2%
4%
5%
5%
8%
9%
8%
18%
11%
9%
13%
16%
17%
17%
Healthcare professionals
Scientists
Academics at universities
People who run well-known charities
Economists
People from international organisations - eg UN/ IMF
People from Bank of England
People who work at think tanks
Senior religious figures
Newspaper journalists
People who run large businesses
Politicians from Britain
Well known sportspeople
Well known actors and entertainers
Political leaders of other countries
A great deal Quite a lot Not sure Not very much Not at all
Base: 1,000 adults 16+, Britain | Source: Charity Awareness Monitor, Feb 17, nfpSynergy

10. 10
Trusted, and less trusted, views on UK policy over
time (i)
“How much do you trust the views of the following people when they comment on UK policy?”
17%
15%
18%
14%
10%
10%
8%
5%
8%
8%
7%
6%
5%
8%
49%
43%
44%
41%
40%
35%
34%
26%
33%
32%
27%
27%
28%
24%
24%
31%
28%
33%
33%
38%
38%
46%
37%
38%
40%
38%
36%
40%
9%
8%
9%
9%
13%
12%
15%
16%
17%
15%
18%
19%
23%
18%
2%
4%
2%
3%
4%
6%
5%
8%
5%
7%
8%
9%
9%
9%
2017
2016
2017
2016
2017
2016
2017
2016
2017
2016
2017
2016
2017
2016
A great deal Quite a lot Not sure Not very much Not at all
Base: 1,000 adults 16+, Britain | Source: Charity Awareness Monitor, Feb 17, nfpSynergy
Healthcare professionals
Scientists
Academics at
universities
People who run well-
known charities
Economists
People from international
organisations – e.g. UN/IMF
People from Bank of England

11. 11
Trusted, and less trusted, views on UK policy over
time (ii)
“How much do you trust the views of the following people when they comment on UK policy?”
3%
5%
4%
5%
3%
3%
3%
5%
3%
4%
3%
4%
3%
4%
3%
3%
22%
18%
18%
14%
18%
13%
18%
21%
16%
17%
14%
13%
13%
11%
12%
13%
47%
47%
32%
37%
35%
36%
42%
40%
32%
34%
37%
34%
36%
34%
33%
34%
20%
20%
29%
24%
32%
31%
29%
23%
37%
30%
31%
26%
32%
28%
36%
31%
8%
10%
18%
20%
11%
17%
9%
11%
13%
16%
16%
23%
17%
24%
17%
19%
2017
2016
2017
2016
2017
2016
2017
2016
2017
2016
2017
2016
2017
2016
2017
2016
A great deal Quite a lot Not sure Not very much Not at all
Base: 1,000 adults 16+, Britain | Source: Charity Awareness Monitor, Feb 17, nfpSynergy
People who work at think tanks
Senior religious figures
Newspaper journalists
People who run large businesses
Politicians from Britain
Well known sportspeople
Well known actors and entertainers
Political leaders of other countries

12. 12
Charities trusted to make an
impact but less so in their use of
personal data

13. 13
Trust in charities to do various activities
Base: 1,000 adults 16+, Britain | Source: Charity Awareness Monitor, Oct 16, nfpSynergy
“Thinking about charities in the UK, to what extent do you trust them to do any of the following?”
40%
44%
47%
47%
46%
47%
48%
13%
13%
12%
14%
15%
14%
16%
-27%
-25%
-23%
-26%
-22%
-23%
-23%
-11%
-11%
-6%
-7%
-6%
-8%
-5%
To use the personal data of their supporters…
To spend their donations wisely
To act in an environmentally-friendly way
To fundraise appropriately
To treat their workers well
To tell the truth
To have a positive impact on UK society
Very little Not much Not sure Quite a lot A great deal

14. 14
People want policy decisions that
reflect their views

15. 15
Policy decisions in the UK
“How far do you agree with the following statements when it comes to decisions about policy in the UK”
30%
20%
9%
7%
46%
32%
25%
20%
22%
36%
41%
33%
2%
10%
19%
23%
5%
17%
Policy decisions should be backed up by evidence from the
experts
Its more important to listen to the views of ordinary people
than relying on the views of experts
Its more important to take into account the views of experts
rather than relying on ordinary people
Policy decisions should be made according to the personal
opinions and values of the elected politicians
Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree
Base: 1,000 adults 16+, Britain | Source: Charity Awareness Monitor, Feb 17, nfpSynergy

16. 16
Policy decisions in the UK – by leave/remain
Base: 1,000 adults 16+, Britain | Source: Charity Awareness Monitor, Feb 17, nfpSynergy
“How far do you agree with the following statements when it comes to decisions about policy in the UK”
72%
64%
27%
24%
80%
41%
45%
31%
Policy decisions should be backed up by evidence from the
experts
It's more important to listen to the views of ordinary people
than relying on the views of experts
It's more important to take into account the views of experts
rather than relying on ordinary people
Policy decisions should be made according to the personal
opinions and values of the elected politicians
Leave
Remain

17. 17
Policy decisions in the UK over time
“How far do you agree with the following statements when it comes to decisions about policy in the UK”
30%
27%
20%
19%
9%
10%
7%
8%
46%
43%
32%
31%
25%
25%
20%
22%
22%
28%
36%
39%
41%
43%
33%
38%
2%
2%
10%
8%
19%
17%
23%
21%
5%
6%
17%
12%
2017
2016
2017
2016
2017
2016
2017
2016
Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree
Base: 1,000 adults 16+, Britain | Source: Charity Awareness Monitor, Feb 17, nfpSynergy
Policy decisions should be backed up by
evidence from the experts
It’s more important to listen to the views of ordinary
people than relying on the views of experts
It’s more important to take into account the views of
experts rather than relying on ordinary people
Policy decisions should be made according to the
personal opinions and values of the elected politicians

18. 18
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