The level of trust in charities in Scotland has fallen slightly following negative media reports, according to reports published this week by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.
The Scottish Charity Surveys 2016, based on a survey of public opinions of the charity sector, has found that there has been a “small but real decrease in the trust and confidence mean score since 2014 due to a shift from higher to lower levels of trust”.
It found that 64 per cent of respondents rate their trust in the sector as six out of ten of above. This is a slight decrease on 68 per cent when the survey was last undertaken in 2014 – which had been an increase on the 2011 survey which saw it at 61 per cent.
Levels of trust still remain quite strong though, with 54 per cent of respondents saying that they felt trust in charities had not changed over the last two years.
The report adds: “However, recent negative media interest in UK charities does not seem to have had a serious impact upon public trust in the charity sector overall. There have been no significant changes for any particular score since 2014.”
The biggest reason for decreased trust was negative press and media coverage of charity scandals, with 54 per cent of those stating reduced trust levels putting that as a reason. Other reasons included money going to charity chief executives and management, money not reaching where it is meant to, and charities “hounding” and “harassing” people.
It revealed that 81 per cent of respondents said trust was important when it comes to determining how much to donate. This figure is in line with 2014’s findings of 83 per cent.
OSCR has produced two reports, one which surveys public trust of charities, with the other looking at perspectives of the regulator. Over 1,000 members of the public and over 1,200 charity representatives were surveyed. It also held focus groups and in-depth telephone interviews.
The report stated that charity status was seen as an “overwhelmingly positive thing for OSCR’s stakeholders, with 85 per cent stating that they benefitted either ‘a little’ or ‘a lot’ from being registered”.
The survey also looks at awareness of the charity regulator in Scotland, and found that members of the public who had an awareness of OSCR had higher levels of trust in charities. OSCR recommended the use of its “registration logo” on its website and publications, produced earlier this year, to show it is regulated.
The report said: “The majority of respondents, even in light of the trying media coverage of charities did not feel that their particular charity was under threat. They were confident that their donors’, patrons’ and/or members’ emotional connection and familiarity with their charity went a long way to distancing them from less scrupulous charities.”
David Robb, chief executive of OSCR, said on welcoming the report: “It’s reassuring to see that public trust in charities remains high, but clearly there are steps we can all take to reinforce this further. For the regulator, it’s about ensuring greater transparency, support and scrutiny, which we’re delivering through our new Targeted Regulation programme.
“For charities, it’s about publicising the work they do and the impact they have, whether that’s on their websites, in their annual reports and accounts, or in the local press. For the public, it’s checking charitable status on the Register and reassuring themselves about the organisations they are looking to support.”
OSCR’s research comes in the same week as that produced by the Charity Commission for England and Wales, which found there has been a “significant” decrease in the public’s trust and confidence in charities, and the sector is now less trusted than the ordinary man in the street.
