Study finds 1 in 3 Brits don’t trust charities

Aug. 13, 2010 - PRLog -- The UK’s leading discount and voucher code website, http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk has conducted a study of 1,286 people to discover their attitudes and opinions towards charities.

The study by http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk found that almost 1 in 3, 32%, of the respondents don’t trust charities. 19% of those asked believe that charities are ‘dishonest’ about how they spend donations.

A further 12% thought that charities ‘exaggerate’ about the amount of funding needed, while 17% admitted to feeling ‘pressured’ into donating money in the past.
More than 1 in 4, 26%, of the respondents claimed that they felt ‘uncomfortable’ when approached by charity employees in the street and a further 6% confessed that it makes them feel ‘angry’.  41% thought it was ‘intrusive’ when charity workers approached them whilst they were at home.  

Of those polled by http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk only 12% donate to a charity on a regular basis, 22% of which claim it is down to them having been approached by a charity worker on the high street.  

Of the 12% that donate to charity, almost 1 in 10, 9%, admitted that they only donate to a cause to make themselves ‘feel better’ about being more fortunate.

When asked by http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk ‘If you could afford to donate to any charity, would you contribute towards a larger, well known charity, or a smaller charity?’ the majority, 53% would donate to a smaller organisation, 37% of which believe they are ‘more honest’ than larger charities.

Commenting on the findings, Mark Pearson, managing director of http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, has said,

“Donating money to charity is a great thing to do if you can afford it, but I do understand that some people don’t have much cash to spare. It is upsetting to think that we have become cynical and think that charities can’t be trusted when it comes to spending our donations in an honest manner.”

He continued,

“If you are feeling the pinch this summer but would like to donate to charity, sites such as MyVoucherCodes.co.uk are a great way to save money on a variety of things such as restaurants, clothing and beauty products. I am sure charities would be grateful for any donation, big or small, so whatever you save can be donated to a worthy cause.”

LINK http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk  

***ENDS***

For more information, please contact Charlotte Horsfall, 10 Yetis Public Relations Agency on 01452 348 211, charlotte@10yetis.co.uk

EDITORS NOTES

Mark Pearson, MD of MyVoucherCodes is a regular media contributor regarding online shopping and the credit crunch. At 29, his personal worth is more than £30 million. Mark was previously a trainee chef working for Gordon Ramsay at Claridges, London.

MyVoucherCodes has had sales exceeding £481m in the last year
Consumer savings on online shopping via MyVoucherCodes.co.uk up from £28m in 2008 to £52m in 2009.

MyVoucherCodes is the UK’s most popular discount site.