A new website is to be launched to help eradicate confusion and mistrust over charity expenditure in areas such as administration and fundraising.

Although over 90% of the public believe there should be stricter control over what charities can spend on such activities, research by the Bristol Business School suggests that people generally over-estimate this figure, very often believing charities spend as much as double what they actually do.

Due to go live on 18 March, Charityfacts.org aims to provide an “authoritative source of information” on fundraising and administration, and will answer questions about what charities spend their money on and why, in the hope that it will dispel many of the myths currently associated with charities, and in turn, improve public trust and confidence.

While it is to be an independent initiative led by Professor Adrian Sargeant of the Bristol Business School, its initial development has been funded by a small group of UK fundraising charities, including Cancer Research UK, NSPCC, British Red Cross and RSPCA, and has been endorsed by the Institute of Fundraising. For more information email Adrian.Sargeant@uwe.ac.uk or call 01884 34888.