The Charity Insights Canada Project (CICP) published new insights from the Public Trust & Sector Reputation Survey. The data reveals insights into the level of perceived public trust and the actions organizations took to build or protect public trust. The survey also asked charities what they believe most affects public trust, and their organization’s current capacity to communicate clearly and transparently with the public.
Survey Highlights:
- Transparency, impact, and staff conduct are key drivers of trust – The sector believes public trust in charities is affected by demonstrating impact and results (47%), staff conduct and professionalism (44%), and transparency around use of funds (37%), highlighting the importance of clear communication and ethical operations.
- Charities are proactively strengthening trust – Most organizations have taken deliberate steps in the past year to build or protect trust, such as increasing engagement on social media (59%), publishing impact reports (41%), and strengthening accountability practices (29%), though many still face capacity issues that make regular public communications challenging.
- A majority of Canadian charities (58%) indicate they have a moderate capacity to communicate clearly and transparently with the public. Some of the common challenges charities face in improving public trust include:
- Limited staff and financial capacity – Many organizations lack dedicated communications staff or funding to develop professional communication plans, relying instead on overextended employees to handle outreach “off the side of their desks.”
- Media-driven misunderstandings and public misconceptions – Negative or sensationalized media narratives, sector-wide scandals, and general public confusion about how charities operate make it harder to maintain trust.
- Balancing transparency with confidentiality – Charities struggle to share enough information to build trust while protecting sensitive details about clients, programs, or funding. At the same time, communication work is often deprioritized compared to direct service delivery due to resource constraints.
Check out the CICP data for further insights, click here.