• Scarce 2 in 5 British adults claim they trust British charities, according to latest figures (July 2007)
• Only the BBC and the Banks seem to have taken a bigger institutional battering
• Lower social grades (DEs), 55-64 year olds and those in Yorks/North East spearhead dip in confidence
• Sector should adopt “clear communications strategy” and stop being “ostrich-like”, counsels Saxton

Public trust in charities slumped 9 percentage points (from 51% to 42%) between Sept 2006 and July 2007,

A new analysis from the Family Expenditure Survey.

Not for profit think-tank nfpSynergy has teamed up with The ImpACT Coalition to produce a free, short, practical report and guide that will empower charities to formulate and communicate simple messages, including pithy pub facts, needed to dispel a range of debilitating misperceptions their stakeholders may have, both about themselves and the wider third sector.

A representative sample of the UK population was asked to think about charities and the work that they do and pick up to five issues from a prompted list that they found 'off-putting, worrying or irritating'. The biggest single response was 'concerns about the amount that goes to the charity' - 68% and only 5% of respondents said nothing irritated or concerned them.

Is the public falling out of love with charities? Those operating within the voluntary sector may feel concerned that today's public are growing increasingly sceptical about charitable activity. As a result, there is much discussion about the need for tighter regulation of charities in order to inspire greater public trust and confidence and therefore future financial success.