Macmillan Cancer Support has topped YouGov’s charity brand index for the fourth year in a row.

The polling firm’s CharityIndex ranks Cancer Research UK in second and RNLI up one place to third.

The Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity is a new entry in fourth after its first full year of monitoring, followed by Dog Trust up one place to fifth.

Help for Heroes follows in sixth, the British Heart Foundation in seventh, and the Alzheimer’s Society in eighth.

Guide Dogs and Battersea Dogs & Cats Home round out the top 10.

CharityIndex tests the public’s perception of charities on a daily basis across a range of measures.

YouGov’s Buzz scores, which represent whether people have heard anything good or bad about a charity over the two weeks prior to being asked, indicated an improvement in brand image over the past 12 months.

Last year’s Buzz scores reflected what had been a difficult time for charities in the public eye, but many charities this year saw an improvement in brand perception.

Cancer Research UK was the biggest gainer with a 1.3 point improvement in score, followed by NSPCC and RNLI each with a 0.6 point improvement.

Dogs Trust and Guide Dogs each recorded a 0.5 point improvement in their Buzz score, Macmillan improved 0.4 points, and RSPB, Oxfam, and the Salvation Army all rose 0.3 points.

YouGov associate director in public services and not-for-profit Briony Gunstone said this year’s study suggests the sector is recovering some of the ground lost following the controversies of 2015.

“Yet again Macmillan tops the list, a recognition of the depth and range of their fundraising and marketing activities, including the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning, which saw a notable increase in the number of people talking about the brand,” Gunstone said.

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