‘Charities Supporting 3x As Many People’ Charity Commission Finds
18th August 2025
The Charity Commission has published its annual public and trustee research, revealing a stark long-term rise in people seeking support from UK charities. Despite the growth in demand, charities themselves are feeling increased financial pressure.
Key findings from the Charity Commission’s research
1. Public reliance on charities has increased. In the last year, 9% of people received food, medical or financial support from charitable organisations, compared to just 3% in 2020.
2. Public confidence in charities has improved. Almost 60% of people have high trust in charities, while 6 in 10 people believe donations reach their intended cause, a rise on previous years’ reports.
3. The cost of living crisis is affecting donations and charities’ services. Individual donations to charities fell from 62% to 48%, while 46% of charity trustees reported that their charity had been forced to make changes as a result. This included stopping certain services (11%) and using more reserves than expected (17%).
Read the ‘Public Trust in Charities 2025’ Report
Find out more, including the methodology and number of survey participants, in the Public trust in charities 2025 report: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/research-into-public-trust-in-charities-and-research-with-charity-trustees-2025
