Fundraising is one of the main ways charities engage with the public, with every interaction an opportunity to build trust and inspire support. New research commissioned by the Fundraising Regulator highlights how important these interactions are in shaping people’s perceptions of charities, protecting the public from harm, and encouraging future support.
Updating our understanding of fundraising
In May 2026, we worked with Opinium to survey a nationally representative sample of the UK public (age 16+) to assess their experience and expectations of charitable fundraising. This builds on the research we originally conducted in 2023 and provides an opportunity to update our understanding of the fundraising landscape, gain fresh insights into the views of the public, and to see what’s changed.
For both sets of research, we asked Opinium to focus on three key areas:
- Perceptions and experiences of charities: This explored the public’s interaction with charities, including the degree to which they supported charities, levels of trust, and their overall experience.
- General experience of charitable fundraising: This looked specifically at the experience of different fundraising methods and gathered insights into the impact of these experiences.
- Awareness of the Fundraising Regulator: This sought to understand public awareness of the Fundraising Regulator and how much it impacts charitable fundraising.
This year’s survey was shorter than the original and, some questions were updated, so not all findings can be directly compared to the 2023 research.
Positive experiences encourage future support
Almost two-thirds (64%) said their overall experience of supporting charities was positive.
When respondents were asked to describe their experience of supporting charities, most respondents used positive terms such as helpful (27%), friendly (33%), and honest (24%). Only a small minority used negative terms, such as pressured (5%), disappointing (4%) and aggressive (3%).
We asked respondents about 14 different fundraising methods and for them to rate both their comfort levels towards these types of fundraising and their experience of this method for those they had encountered. We found that 84% of people had seen or experienced at least one fundraising method in the previous 12 months.
Similar to the 2023/24 research, the public’s experience of most fundraising methods was more likely to be positive than negative. Across every fundraising method, people who had a positive experience were more likely to say they would support charities in the future.
People were most comfortable donating goods and least comfortable with door-to-door fundraising. However, positive experiences of public fundraising have increased by 12 per cent since 2023, while positive experiences of door-to-door fundraising increased by 10 per cent.
Trust in charity fundraisers has remained steady. 70% of respondents said they trusted some fundraisers but not others, while 16% did not trust any. Concerns included whether charities use donations properly, how to tell if a charity is genuine and whether charities are clear about how they spend money.
As living costs rise and people have less disposable income, charities need to be clear about who they are, how they fundraise and how they use donations.
The Fundraising Badge supports donor confidence
Just over half of respondents (53%) had some awareness of the Fundraising Regulator. This is broadly unchanged since 2023 and isimilar to awareness of larger regulators, such as the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Almost one in five (17%) had seen the Fundraising Badge in the previous 12 months. Overall, 45% said the badge would make them more likely to donate, while 49% said it would give them a more positive view of the charity displaying it.
The badge shows that an organisation is registered with us and committed to following the standards in the Code of Fundraising Practice. These findings highlight the importance of registered organisations displaying the badge clearly.
Different experiences across age groups
The research also showed clear differences in how younger and older people experience and respond to fundraising. For example, 46% of people aged 16 to 24 were comfortable with door-to-door fundraising, compared with 11% of those aged 65 and over.
Older people were more likely to support charities, but less likely to recognise the badge. Only 5% of people aged 65 and over had seen it, compared with 31% of those aged 25 to 34.
Older people were also less likely to carry out checks before donating. More than half (53%) of people aged 65 and over said they did not carry out any of the safe giving checks listed, compared with 13% of those aged 16 to 24.
The findings suggest that charities should consider how their fundraising meets the needs of different age groups. For our part, we will also look at how our communications and work with registered organisations can improve awareness of the badge among older people.
Building on progress
It’s encouraging to see improvements in areas of fundraising that have historically attracted less favourable attention, reflecting the sector’s commitment to raising standards. But there is still more to do. Continuing to invest in effective oversight and training, alongside responsible fundraising, will help people feel more confident in giving and will support public trust in charities.