The proportion of people who plan to give to charity is at its highest in four years, new research has found.
The Summer Donor Pulse report, published by the fundraising technology provider Enthuse, found that 78 per cent of more than 2,000 members of the UK public surveyed said they intended to donate to charity in the next quarter – the highest this figure has been since the research began in 2020.
The proportion was higher among those who had already donated in the past three months, with 90 per cent of these respondents saying they intended to give again in the next quarter.
The number of people who gave to charity in the three months before the poll was at its highest in two years, with 75 per cent saying they had donated to charity in this time frame.
The research also found that one in six people had donated when a charity’s actions were criticised in traditional or social media in recent months, also known as inverse giving – an increase of one percentage point when compared with the previous quarter.
But the percentage of people who donated to charity to show political support for a cause had dropped from 17 per cent last quarter to 15 per cent in the most recent poll.
The research found that financial concerns have eased, finding that more than half of those polled said they felt either the same or better off financially than they did last quarter.
Enthuse added that the younger generation could be a “key demographic for charities”, with the research finding that 65 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds saying they feel the same or better off financially.
The research also found that trust in charities was high, with three quarters of the respondents having either moderate or high trust in charities.
Charities ranked higher in trust levels than any other institution, with the next highest-ranking institution being faith groups and religious institutions – with just 36 per cent saying they had moderate or high trust in these organisations.
The third-most-trusted type of institution was the UK government, with 29 per cent having moderate or high trust in it.
Of those surveyed, 40 per cent said they had high trust in charities, with just 27 per cent saying they had low trust in them.
The poll found that most of the public wanted the government to back the voluntary sector, with 83 per cent saying they believe the government should provide financial support to charities and 43 per cent believing that current support should be increased.
Younger generations felt particularly strongly about this, with 55 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 saying they supported increased funding for charities.
Chester Mojay-Sinclare, founder and chief executive of Enthuse, said: “As the economy slowly improves and the number of people feeling the same or better off increases, it’s great to see the public recognising the importance of the third sector and giving to good causes.
“For people to donate, they have to trust – so it’s brilliant to see in our research that charities are comfortably the most trusted UK institution.
“With a general election fast approaching, I hope whoever comes out on top listens to charities and the voices of the people they represent. The sector needs support and the public wants to see it.”