Charities are second only to family and friends as trusted sources of information for the public, according to the latest poll from nfpSynergy.
Some 65 per cent of people say they trust the accuracy of information provided by charities “quite a lot” or “a great deal”, while 72 per cent trust a friend or family member.
Research consultancy, nfpSynergy, carried out an online survey of a representative sample of 1,000 members of the public in February 2017.
It also found that just 15 per cent trust politicians and 20 per cent trust social media, while 57 per cent trust the BBC and 30 per cent trust the government.
Charities were the second most trusted to provide impartial information, with 53 per cent saying that they trusted charities “a great deal” or “quite a lot”. Again charities were behind friends and family who were trusted by 57 per cent of respondents to be impartial sources of information.
What are charities trusted to do
People who run well-known charities were the fourth most trusted to provide commentary on UK policy, with 42 per cent saying that they trusted them “a great deal” or “quite a lot”.
Healthcare professionals were the most trusted, followed by scientists and academics.
Senior religious figures were trusted by 22 per cent and politicians by 19 per cent.
Some 64 per cent of respondents said they trust charities “to have a positive impact on UK society” while 61 per cent said they were trusted to “tell the truth.
61 per cent said they trusted charities to “fundraise appropriately” and 57 said they trust charities to “spend their donations well”, while 53 per cent said they trust charities to use the personal data of their supporters appropriately.
