A poll by nfpSynergy has shown that just one in 17 people asked think charities should save more than a year’s expenditure in reserves, while a third of people favour reserves of less than six months’ spending.

The poll asked 1,000 people how many months’ worth of money charities should keep in case their income fell, and just six per cent said over a year’s worth of expenditure.

One in five people polled said they felt that four to six months of reserves was wisest. While another fifth said they preferred charities they support to keep back reserves totalling six months to a year.

Only 12 per cent said that a charity’s reserves should be whatever the charity feels is right.

The results came from nfpSynergy’s Charity Awareness Monitor, which regularly surveys a representative sample of 1,000 people aged 16 and over throughout mainland Britain on charity-related questions.

People were also asked how much a charity with an annual income of £12m should keep in reserves, “to see if their answers differed when talking in money rather than months”. Those polled were even more enthusiastic for smaller reserves, with not one person saying £24m was the right amount of reserves, and only two per cent opting for the full year’s income of £12m.

The majority, just under a quarter, said £1m was the most appropriate figure, the smallest number listed in the survey. Just less than that, at 23 per cent, put £3m as the most appropriate amount of reserves for a £12m charity.

In response to the question of the most appropriate reserves for a £12m charity, 16 per cent said that the amount of reserves should be what the charity feels is right, while 22 per cent said they were not sure.

Joe Saxton (pictured), founder of nfpSynergy, said: “It’s interesting to see that hardly anyone feels charities should keep back at least a year’s expenditure in reserves. The public want to think that the donations they make are being used to do good, not sitting and gathering dust.

“People are even keener on low levels of reserves if the actual amounts of money are discussed rather than the length of time. Just under 20 per cent of the public says three months or less is the right amount, but nearly 50 per cent say £3 million or less when asked about a £12 million charity. The moral of this is to always talk about the length of time reserves might last, rather than specific amounts of money.”