14/12/12

By Andrew Holt

Charities are likely to lose donations from the public if they are thought to spend too little on their cause, new research suggests.

The poll, carried out by research consultancy nfpSynergy, found that 61% of people gave this as their main reason not to give and it has been the top choice for three years running.

Half of people would be put off by “not being clear how donations are spent”, while 47% said they would hold back their donation if “too much was spent on staff salaries.”

The research, based on a survey of 1031 British adults, also revealed that fundraising also features prominently in people’s reluctance to give.

Nearly half (43%) said they wouldn’t want to donate if fundraisers were “too persistent” and a third (34%) keep hold of their money if fundraising methods are “too intrusive”.

The study also shows a split in whether people think charities should save for the future.

Just over half (51%) thought charities should spend as much of their donation as possible on this year’s need, but 43% were happy to see more spent on fundraising if it would increase future income.

nfpSynergy’s driver of Ideas, Joe Saxton, said: “The evidence is clear; people want to know how their donations are spent. Charities should sing from the rooftops about what they spend their money on. It’s time the sector stopped huffing and puffing and bit the bullet.

"We recently called for an easy way to find out how much of their income charities spend on what they’re fighting and campaigning for. If charities want to increase donations and maintain the donors they already have, action should be taken...and quickly.”

The research revealed:

People’s most common reason for not giving to charity was “too little money going to the cause” (61%).

Half (50%) of people would be put off by “not being clear about how donations are spent”. 47% are put off by “too much being spent on staff salaries”.

Nearly half (43%) are put off by fundraisers being too persistent, with a third (34%) put off by fundraising methods that are “too intrusive”.

The public are torn between thinking charities should spend as much of their donation as possible on this year’s needs (51%), compared with 43% who were happy for more to be spent on fundraising if it will increase future income.

Home     More News


Other stories you may find of interest:

Public puts charities bottom of list to give to political parties
The British public are happier for foreign businesses (24%), foreign governments (15%), churches and religious organisations (15%) – and even the royal family (13% - 7% saying ‘probably’, 6% ‘definitely’) - to give money to support UK political parties than for UK charities (13% - 10% say ‘probably’, 3% ‘definitely’) to so do, according to new data out today.

Charities are struggling to unlock the fundraising potential in the data they hold, says report
More than half (57 per cent) of UK third sector organisations are struggling to unlock the marketing and fundraising potential in the data they hold, according to Data Driven Fundraising, a new Blackbaud report launched today. The research was conducted in conjunction with research consultancy nfpSynergy and surveyed 338 not-for-profit professionals to reveal that just 30 per cent of respondents felt they were doing a good job in utilising their data for marketing and fundraising. However, 70 per cent of respondents said there was untapped potential in the data their organisations hold.

Royal British Legion ranked top by MPs
The Royal British Legion has been ranked as the most effective charity at campaigning in an independent survey of MPs. This is the second consecutive quarter that the charity, which campaigns for the whole Armed Forces family, has topped the nfpSynergy poll. As well as being ranked as 'very effective' by more than half of all MPs (51%) and as 'somewhat effective' by just over a third (34%), the Legion has come top in the list of charities that have most impressed MPs over the last six months. A majority of MPs also name it as the charity that first comes to mind on issues affecting the Armed Forces. The Legion attributes MPs' growing support largely to its 'Time to do your bit' campaign.