This is our second major report on volunteering. We published The 21^st Century Volunteer in 2005 and it was our most popular free report for many years. But over time, many things in the world of volunteering, charities and the wider economic, social and political climate have changed. 

Find out how much the public think charities should spend on admin, fundraising and the cause, plus what they think charities actually spend.

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Scottish parties split over impact of independence on charities

• 19 of the 20 SNP MSPs surveyed believe that Scottish independence would have a positive impact for charities, a new report finds 
• Seven out of 15 Labour MS

Whether or not Scotland votes for independence, the future of the country is set to change. As politicians continue to debate what independence could mean, we have analysed what MSPs and the general public think the impact of a ‘Yes’ vote would have on Scottish charities.

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Donors are reassured when no one earns over £50,000 or travels on first class rail

• 69% of people think London-based offices and rebrands are ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ wasteful (slide 2)
• Over a third of people think lobbying government or other organisations is ‘fairly’ or ‘very’ worthwhile (slide 2)
• 54% feel the same way about advertising, while 61% say that about developing a website (slide 2)
• The best way for charities to make people feel confident they’ll spend a donation well is to not allow staff to travel first class on expenses according to 52% (slide 3)
• Half of people would feel confident if the organisation was run mostly by volunteers (50%), no one earned more than £50,000 a year (47%) and no one got a bonus (46%) (slide 3)
• One in three said they’d feel confident if a charity had no offices in London, while 23% would if staff paid for their own Christmas party. One in ten would if staff worked a day a month for free (slide 3)