New research into the UK public's trust in charities and trustees' experience of their role

The Charity Commission for England and Wales has published annual research into the public's trust in charities, and trustees' experience of their role.

Public Trust in Charities

Overall trust in charities has been stable since 2020, with recent analysis revealing public trust in charities reaching a 10-year high.  In 2024, charities score a 6.5 out of 10 for trust: up from 6.3 in the previous year and recovering from 2018's low of 5.5 amid high-profile scandals.

58% of the public place strong trust in charities, scoring them at seven out of 10 or higher, putting charities only behind doctors in terms of public trust.

The increase comes amidst a challenging economic backdrop for the British public.  While the percentage of people who donated money or goods or fundraised for charities decreased from 62% in 2020 to 47% this year, there has been an increase in the percentage of people seeking assistance from charities: 9% this year, up from 3% in 2020. 

Trustee Attitudes

The Charity Commission have also published their findings on the attitudes of charity trustees towards their role.

61% of trustees agree that there should be high expectations of conduct in charities and that charity's standards of behaviours and conduct should be higher than that in other organisations.  Further, trustees report high levels of confidence in their responsibilities and awareness in their duties when making decisions.  

The Commission surveyed charity trustees about their charity's use of artificial intelligence for the first time this year.  Only 3% of trustees report the use of AI in their charities, however this figure rises to 8% in larger charities (income of over £1m).

Finally, the regulator published data confirming widespread problems among trustees in their experiences with banking services for their charities, confirming its statements earlier in the year that there was 'undeniable evidence of the extent and impact of the appalling service charities receive from some banks.'  Of all the areas of self-reported trustee confidence, the ability to manage charity finances scored the lowest, with 8% of charities reporting low or no confidence in the area.

Please see the full research findings here.  For more information on good governance for charities, and how to navigate your role as a trustee, please contact a member of our team.