The Charity Commission often urges the public to check its website before supporting a charity. But do the public even know who the Charity Commission is and how charity regulation works? Civil Society News asked 10,000 people.
Who regulates the charity sector?
We asked people who regulated charities, and gave them the option of putting someone down as a first choice, and then also picking other answers, or putting down one organisation on its own.
We offered a range of possibilities, including the Commission, HMRC, and a red herring, the Charities Regulator.
We found older people were likely to know the Charity Commission regulates charities, but younger people were relatively unlikely to know.
Among 16 to 24-year-olds 44.8 per cent said they don’t know who regulates the charity sector. Only 31 per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds correctly picked the Commission.
The stats were similar for 25–34 year olds. Around 43 per cent answered ‘don’t know’ when asked who regulates the charity sector. The next most popular answer was the Charity Commission at first choice, chosen by 35.2 per cent of this group.
At ages 35 to 44 the position shifts. The most popular answer is the Charity Commission as first choice (44.2 per cent), followed by ‘don’t know’ at 39.4 per cent. Around 20 per cent said the Charity Commission regulates charities on its own.
By ages 65 to 74, the most popular answer was still the Charity Commission at first choice (68.6 per cent), but instead of ‘don’t know’, the next most popular answer was now the Charity Commission on its own (31.8 per cent).
Overall, it is good news for the Charity Commission. Although a majority of younger people are unaware of who regulates the charity sector, a sizeable proportion are aware that the Charity Commission is involved. And very few got caught out by our red herring ‘the Charities Regulator’.
Who regulates charity sector pay?
We also asked who regulates charity pay. Respondents were given five choices: trustees, donors, government, the regulator of charities and don’t know.
Among 16 to 24-year-olds most didn’t know (38.5 per cent), but the next most popular answer was trustees as first choice (29.2 per cent). There was a similar picture with 25 to 34-year-olds, and by 35+ the most popular answer was trustees first.
Overall, it’s good news for the Charity Commission and charity regulation. There is broad awareness of how the sector is regulated, though this is lower among young people. CAF’s recent Growing Giving inquiry recommended that schools strive to embed a charitable culture in pupils and our findings suggest this is essential so the next generation of givers of time and/or money are well equipped.
Researched by Vibeka Mair and Leon Ward
Data source: 10,880 survey respondents from Valued Opinions™, the panel where people earn a variety of top online retail and high street vouchers simply for sharing their opinions.
