Two recent public surveys indicate that charities should communicate better and file accounts on time to maintain support from individuals.

Public concern about charity staff pay is six per cent higher this year than last year, according to the latest research from nfpSynergy.

In last year’s Barriers to Giving Awareness Monitor, which questions 1,000 UK adults, 47 per cent cited staff salaries as being a reason not giving to charity. This rose to 53 per cent this year.

“Too little money being spent on the cause" is remains the reason most people are put off giving, with 62 per cent of respondents saying it was an issue.

nfpSynergy’s Joe Saxton said charities could remove the barriers to people donating by communicating better with the public about how donations are spent.

He said: “There are always going to be people who don’t want to see money spent on anything but the cause, but when are we as a sector going to learn that explaining what we do, why we do it and how it benefits us could increase donations dramatically?”

Meanwhile an ICM poll, of more than 1,000 adults, which was commissioned by the Fundraising Standards Board found that three quarters would not donate to a charity which had failed to file its annual accounts with the Charity Commission.

However when approached for a donation many do not even check that the fundraiser or charity are genuine. Almost 40 per cent said that they did not ask for ID or question the fundraiser about the charity, one in five people said they look for the FRSB tick branding.