More than a quarter of charities are being affected by social division including threats to staff and vandalism, according to research published by the Charity Commission.
The regulator found that 27% of surveyed charities had been affected by community tensions, with 11% seeing their support decrease and 9% reporting a boost.
Vandalism or property damage was reported by 4% of charities, while 3% said misinformation had been spread about their organisation.
Staff, volunteers and trustees have also been threatened in person, with 2% of surveyed charities flagging this.
One in 20 charities said they had been forced to stop or change some of their activities.
This increased to 22% for human rights, religious and racial harmony, and equality and diversity charities.
These charities were also more likely to see protests at their premises (4%), online threats (6%), in-person threats (6%) and vandalism (9%).
The commission’s assistant policy director Rachel Wenstone said: “We have heard deeply concerning accounts of staff being threatened, intimidated, and left afraid simply for doing their jobs.
“These findings show those experiences are not isolated: a significant minority of charities are now operating in an environment marked by hostility and threat.”
Analytics company BMG Research conducted the research in February, surveying a representative sample of about 3,000 charity trustees.
Public trust same as year before
A second BMG survey of 4,681 members of the public found that 57% said they had a high trust in charities, the same as a year earlier.
The overall trust rating for charities was a mean of 6.5 out of 10, the same as the year before and second only to doctors (7.1).
MPs, government ministers and newspapers scored lowest in the overall trust table with 3.4, 3.5 and 4.2 ratings respectively.
Donations being spent on the causes a charity supports remained a top driver of trust at 55%, up by two percentage points from the year before.
People were less concerned about those running a given charity having a range of backgrounds and skills, with just 13% selecting this as a trust driver, the lowest category.
There was a rise among those with low trust in charities up to 11% this year from 9% the year before.
The report also states that those with less contact with charities and lower awareness of the commission were more likely to have low trust.
High trust in charities was greater among those with a degree or higher (69%) and those from less deprived socio-economic backgrounds.
Wenstone added: “It is encouraging that, despite wider social divisions and financial pressure, charities continue to command strong public trust.
“But that trust should never be taken for granted. Charities need to keep showing that charity status means something: a clear focus on their charitable purpose, responsible stewardship of funds, and the highest standards of governance.”
