Trust high in charities’ use of donations: poll

Almost three-quarters of Canadians are confident charities spend money responsibly, but most don’t know how much of their donations actually go to the causes they support, according to a poll by Forum Research.

The poll found about onethird of respondents, or 36 per cent, believe charities generally spend at least 80 per cent of donations on directly servicing the organization’s mission. But 36 per cent of respondents had low expectations, with just under a quarter saying they believe 30 to 60 per cent of donations go directly toward helping the needy, and 13 per cent said charities spend all but 30 per cent of their budgets on overhead.

On average, charities direct 72 per cent of their budgets towards good works, with fundraising costs and overhead accounting for the remaining 28 per cent. Only 28 per cent of respondents said they expect 60 to 80 per cent of their donations to go directly toward the charity’s mission.