Data provided by the Environics Institute for Survey Research for this article. Thank you to Andrew Parkin of the institute for his support of this post. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Environics Institute or its research partners.

New data suggests that public confidence in charity leaders has fallen sharply over the last decade. According to data from the Environics Institute, only 50% of Canadians have trust in leaders of NFPs and charities, down from 72% when they last asked Canadians about the topic in 2009.

The most recent study – available for download in the “A Better Canada” report based on a survey conducted by the Environics Institute for Survey Research and Vancity –  surveyed 3,008 Canadians in August 2020.  

The long-term downward trend in perceptions of charity and nonprofit leaders 

It is noteworthy that the Environics Study was fielded in August 2020, right in the midst of when the Canadian Parliament was investigating We Charity, which likely contributed to negative perception of charity leaders. 

Given this, it is critical to look at other sources to see how significant the decline in trust for charity and nonprofit leaders has been. 

Looking over the last two decades, we were able to find four research streams that asked about perceptions of charity leaders over time, representing 27 distinct surveys. This includes the work by the Environics Institute, the Edelman Trust Barometer, studies by the Muttart Foundation, and work by Proof Strategies for their CanTrustIndex. 

The most recent measure of trust in nonprofits was lower in each survey series compared to both the earliest and highest recorded measures of trust. 

Both Edelman and Proof Strategies surveyed Canadians right before the pandemic, amid the initial phases of the pandemic response, and after We Charity graced the front pages of most Canadian news outlets at least once. 

The pattern was consistent; trust in charities and nonprofits increased substantially early in the pandemic and then declined back to previous levels as time went on.

For example, the CanTrustIndex found that trust in charity leaders was 49% in early 2020, increased to 56% in May 2020, and then decreased to 50% by September 2020 (see Figure 2). 

This finding suggests that the significant drop in confidence in charity leaders found by the Environics Institute was not a result of being in the field at a specific point in time but reflects a real and substantial decline in the perception of charity and nonprofit leaders. 

Of the studies we were able to find, studies by both the Muttart Foundation and Environics Institute consistently found that 70 to 80% of Canadians trusted leaders of charities and nonprofits throughout most of the 2000s. By 2020, Environics Institute found that only 50% of Canadians reported confidence in charity and nonprofit leaders, while the CanTrustIndex found that 48% of Canadians reported trust in charity and nonprofit leaders in 2021.

A significant decline in those that trust charity and nonprofit leaders a lot 

The Environics Institute and the Muttart Foundation questions are almost identical. 

Between 2000 and 2020, the Environics Institute and the Muttart Foundation have commissioned a combined nine high-quality studies asking Canadians about their perceptions of charity and nonprofit leaders. The measurement scale is also almost identical, allowing for some examination of trends over time. 

Figure 3 shows that the most recent Environics Institute results indicate an at least decade-long decline of trust and confidence in charity leadership.

In 2000, 27% of Canadians reported a lot of trust or confidence in charity leaders, but in the Environics Institute’s research, only 8% reported having a lot of confidence in 2020, down from 22% in 2006. 

Similarly, when the Muttart Foundation surveyed about trust in charity leaders in 2004, 24% of Canadians reported a lot of trust in charity leaders. When they surveyed again in 2008, 25% reported a lot of trust. By 2013, that had declined to 17%. The study has not been conducted since 2013.

Part of a broader decline in trust in leaders  

Trust in leadership in many Canadian institutions has fallen over the last decade, although charity leaders have seen the most precipitous decline. Looking at the data in Figure 1, between 2009 and 2020, confidence in charity leaders dropped by 22 percentage points, compared to only eight percentage points for business leaders, six for union leaders, and three for government leaders. Business and union leaders had already seen significant decreases in confidence from 2006 to 2009 amid the great recession, which may help explain why they experienced smaller declines between 2009 and 2020.

Can declining trust help explain the decline in donors?

While all institutions should be concerned about declining trust among Canadians, few are as reliant on the goodwill of the general public as charities, which often rely on donations for funding.

Evidence in Canada suggests that charitable donations have been decreasing in tandem with trust levels in charity leaders. In 2000, 25.5% of Canadian tax filers reported charitable donations, but by 2018 it was only 19.4%. 

While the decline in donation rates is less pronounced than the decline in perceptions of charity leaders, the ongoing erosion of both suggests a possible correlation.  

Between 2000 and 2008, both the percentage of Canadians reporting a donation and their reported trust in charity leaders remained relatively stable. But as confidence dropped more rapidly from 2009 onward, donations began to decline rapidly as well, from 24.1% of tax filers in 2008 and down to 21.9% of tax filers in 2013. 

For charities, it is vital to put this data into context. If the donation rate had held steady between 2000 to 2018, Canada would have 1.7 million more people claiming donations on their tax returns. With the average tax filer who donates giving more than $2,000 per year, the potential lost revenues for charities amount to billions of dollars. 

Confidence in charity leaders and Canada’s ability to support the most vulnerable 

The causes of the decline in trust are beyond the scope of this article and require in-depth study. 

However, other data provided by the Environics Institute suggests some areas for charities to work on. Of Canadians who strongly agree that Canada does a good job of caring for the more vulnerable in society, 67% had a lot or some confidence in charity leaders. Among those who strongly disagreed, only 36% had a lot of confidence in charity leaders. 

Similarly, of those who felt it very likely that a local community group or religious group would offer them financial support if they needed it, 67% had confidence in charity leaders. Among those who felt it very unlikely, only 39% had a lot of confidence in charities. 

People who said they were struggling to make ends meet likewise had the lowest confidence in charity leaders of nearly any demographic group. 

For charity leaders, reversing the decline in trust in charities may be critical for building trust among those they work to serve and in securing ongoing donations.

This post would not be possible without the support of the Environics Institute. To learn more about how Canadians perceive this country and how it has changed over time, please read their recent publication, A BETTER CANADA: Community, Citizenship and Engagement, published in December 2020 in partnership with Vancity. For further information about this survey, please contact the Environics Institute at info@environicsinstitute.org. For further information about this article, please contact Steven Ayer of Common Good Strategies at steve@goodstrategy.ca.