The charity sector must not take for granted the “very fragile” trust of the public, Nick Hurd, minister for civil society, told an audience of sector leaders yesterday.
“The good news for the sector is that it continues to enjoy high levels of trust,” Hurd told the Acevo Gathering of Social Leaders in London. “But that trust is very fragile. I would urge the sector not to take that trust for granted.”
Hurd said there was a risk of a growing “perception gap” between “what the public think about the sector and what it is”.
He said that “trust and management of the brand charity” was something that the charity sector could not be complacent about.
He said while the government had a role in ensuring trust in charity was high, particularly by ensuring that the sector’s regulators were fit for purpose, the main role lay with charities themselves.
He said the sector is going through “big systemic change” and must make an effort to ensure the public understood the work of charities as it changed over time.
‘Charities must start a dialogue with the public’
Lesley-Anne Alexander, chief executive of the RNIB and chair of Acevo, told the event she believed charities had to communicate with the public about how the sector really worked.
She said the sector “could just let the public think they know what we are” or it could outline the real, more complicated picture.
She said she felt the charity sector should “show some bravery” and start a dialogue with the public.
“We as the charity sector have to have some courage in our convictions,” she said. “If we let other people shape our narrative we will be blown off course.”
One in three think charities lack transparency
Ben Page, chief executive of polling firm Ipsos Mori, told the conference that public trust in charities remained high, at over 60 per cent, and remained relatively steady. However he highlighted areas where charities lack the trust of the public.
The top reason for not trusting charities over the past decade, he said, was a lack of transparency around how charities spend money, which had risen to 36 per cent in the most recent poll in 2012.
Page referred to other research, first published by New Philanthropy Capital in March this year, which showed that 42 per cent of people think charity chief executives are paid too much, and that this rises to 49 per cent among people who said they have become more negative in their view of charities.
And while 26 per cent of people think charities spend too much money on running costs, this rises to 36 per cent among those who have become more negative.
