The Give.org Donor Trust Report 2024: Trust and Giving Attitudes Across U.S. Regions and Religious Affiliation offers a glimpse at how participants with different self-reported religious affiliation (and from different U.S. regions) vary in their charity trust and giving attitudes. Our results show that religious affiliation is associated with higher trust in charities, including secular charity categories. Atheist, Agnostic, and unaffiliated participants are also less likely to report contributing to charities or being open to solicitation. The report is based on a survey conducted during December 2023 of more than 2,200 adults in the United States (and a separate section for more than 1,000 adults in Canada). Ultimately, the Give.org Donor Trust Report series aims to shed light on the dynamic relationship between donors and charities, with the goal of strengthening their bond. The ability of the sector to build upon donors’ generosity depends on public trust and on the sector’s alignment with the way people want to be engaged in advancing a greater good.

In the Give.org Donor Trust Special Report: Public Eye on Charity Accountability, we ask participants to consider their positions and expectations related to a selection of charity accountability themes, including oversight, charity finances, impact, solicitation materials and cause-related marketing, artificial intelligence, and data security. Our goal is to keep an eye on emerging charity accountability public priorities.

In an age of distrust, misinformation, and data vulnerability, the top three accountability priorities identified by survey participants were: how the charity spends its money, appeal accuracy, and protection of donor information. When asked to imagine charity appeals including AI-generated images, the majority (54.5%) of participants say they would be discouraged from giving if they knew the appeal was not verified for accuracy by a staff member. Participants with a household income of $200,000 or more are most likely (70.3%) to be discouraged from giving

The Give.org Donor Trust Report 2023: Donor Preferences Across Household Income Brackets offers a 6-year view of public trust for different charity categories; donor trust signals and giving preferences as reported by survey participants; and a look at how participants from different household income groups vary in their donor trust outlook. The report is based on a survey conducted during December 2022 of more than 2,100 adults in the United States (and a separate section for more than 1,000 adults in Canada). Our results show that, for the first time since December 2017, religious organizations are not the most highly trusted charity category. The report also shows that household income shapes how people think and feel about giving. Ultimately, the Give.org Donor Trust Report series aims to shed light on the dynamic relationship between donors and charities, with the goal of strengthening their bond. The ability of the sector to build upon donors’ generosity depends on public trust and on the sector’s alignment with the way people want to be engaged in advancing a greater good.