Irish charities still battling negative perceptions
Howard Lake | 4 February 2015 | News
Irish charities still face a significant challenge in gaining the trust of the public following the controversies in some major charities at the end of 2013, according to research by Amarach and Fundraising Ireland.
While the research shows a slight increase in trust in charities between 2014 and 2015, 47% of those surveyed said they still did not trust charities, 19% had no strong opinion with 43% saying they trust charities. Opinions were sought ranging from no trust at all to complete trust.
The impact of the revelations around the Central Remedial Clinic still weigh heavily on peoples’ views, with 55% saying it had a bearing on their views, although this was down from a figure of 63% in 2014.
When asked about average donation levels, those surveyed said they gave €15 in 2013, €10 in 2014 and €12.50 in 2015. The most popular method of donation was by mail, followed by online and direct debit. Of those who donated to charity at Christmas, 62% said they gave a larger donation.
Despite the controversy over high charity salaries a majority of respondents agreed that people in the charity sector need to be professional and be paid competitive rates. However, those surveyed did not think charity staff should be paid similar rates to those in the private sector and a majority thought that charity salaries were too high.
The research was revealed at a breakfast event in Dublin entitled “Thinking Big! What makes great fundraising organisations?” Participants were urged to deal with legacy issues, deal with unrealistic expectations and to use media to match mood and method in fundraising.
Photo: trust by Tischenko Irina on Shutterstock.com
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.