Macmillan tops YouGov charity brand index for the seventh year

22 Jan 2020 News

Macmillan Cancer Support logo

Macmillan has been named the best charity brand in 2019 for the seventh time in a row by the polling agency YouGov.

Oxfam was the most improved brand, but its score still had a negative score overall, according YouGov’s annual CharityIndex buzz rankings, announced today.

There has been little change in the overall rankings for the top ten, with Cancer Research UK in second place and the British Heart Foundation in third. There was only one new entrant to the top ten, Mind, with Help for Heroes missing out. 

Some 61 charity brands are tracked by YouGov for its CharityIndex and are ranked using their “buzz” scores, which is based on asking people throughout the year if they have heard of brands and if it was positive or negative. 

The buzz rankings reveal the ten charities which have the highest buzz score and the ten that have improved the most. Scores are net scores, calculated by subtracting the percentage of negative responses from the percentage of positive responses for each brand.

Lynda Thomas, chief executive at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have been recognised by the public for the support we provide to people living with cancer.
 
“With nearly three million people now living with cancer in the UK, and that number set to grow, the need for our services has never been greater. Our work is only possible thanks to the generous donations of our supporters and we will continue to work hard to be there for everyone with a diagnosis and support them to live as fully as they can.”

Top ten (score in brackets) 

1 Macmillan Cancer Support    (14)
2 Cancer Research UK    (10.8)
3 British Heart Foundation    (7.7)
4 Guide Dogs    (6.8)
5 Dogs Trust    (6.5)
6 RNLI    (6.3)
7 Royal British Legion    (5.9)
8 Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity    (5.7)
9 Battersea Dogs & Cats Home    (5.6)
10 Mind    (5.6)

Oxfam and Save the Children are ‘most improved’ 

Oxfam and Save the Children were the top two most improved charities in 2019. 

Both had been at the centre of a safeguarding scandal in 2018, which saw their overall scores reach negative numbers. 

In 2018 Oxfam had a buzz score of -13.7 but improved this by 10.7 points to -3 in 2019. 

Save the Children increased its score from -0.1 to 2 and Unicef improved its score from 0.5 to 2. 

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Editor's note - 22 Jan 16.00  

This story has been updated to include comment from Macmillan. 

 

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