# Charities supporting three times as many people with essential aid, research finds

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2025/07/08/charities-supporting-three-times-as-many-people-with-essential-aid-research-finds/
- Published: 2025-07-08T00:00:00+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**The Charity Commission has published its annual public and trustee research, revealing
that charities are now supporting three times as many people with essential aid 
as five years ago, while facing increased financial pressure.**

The Commission’s [annual survey of public attitudes to charities](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/research-into-public-trust-in-charities-and-research-with-charity-trustees-2025)
reveals that in the last year 9% of people received food, medical or financial support
from charitable organisations, compared to just 3% five years ago.

While demand for such services has risen dramatically, the research shows that charities
themselves are feeling increased financial pressure. Over the same five-year period,
the proportion of people who said they’d donated to, or raised funds for charity
in the past year, fell from 62% to 48% as households have felt the pinch.

## Advertisement

Nearly half of charity trustees (46%) said their charity had been forced to make
changes as a result of cost-of-living pressures in the past year, including stopping
some services (11%) and using more of their reserves than expected (17%).

Despite these challenges, public trust in charities remains high, with almost 60%
of people reporting high trust in charities, placing them second only to doctors
among trusted institutions. Public confidence in charitable spending has also improved,
with over 6 in 10 people believing donations are reaching the intended cause, up
7 percentage points in 12 months.

On banking, 38% of trustees reported problems with their charity’s bank, down from
42% in 2024, though the issue remains significant.

The full findings are available on [GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/research-into-public-trust-in-charities-and-research-with-charity-trustees-2025).