Wise Giving Wednesday: Donor Openness and the Charity Trust Gap

At a time when fewer people are giving to charities, new research points to an important opportunity: many donors are open to giving more, but trust still matters.

The 2026 Donor Trust Report: Trends in Donor Trust

Yesterday, BBB Wise Giving Alliance released the Give.org Donor Trust Report 2026: Trends in Donor Trust and Perspectives. 

Based on a December 2025 survey of more than 1,500 U.S. adults and nine years of trend data, the report examines donor trust, engagement, and giving preferences.

The findings arrive at a time when donor participation is declining and giving is increasingly concentrated among a smaller group of major contributors.

Donors Are Open to Giving More—Especially Younger Donors

The survey revealed one of the highest levels of openness to solicitation in the past nine years, with 42.1% of U.S. adults saying they are open to give more.

Within this group, 27.9% said they might give more if asked, and 14.1% would like charities to reach out more often.

Openness is especially strong among younger generations, particularly Gen Zers, who express a high willingness to give more if asked and be approached by charities more often (63%), even as their current donation rates remain comparatively low.

Charity Trust Is Improving, but Not Equally Across Causes

Encouragingly, the survey also suggests that trust is improving for many charities, with 12 of 13 charity categories experiencing increases in high-trust between 2024 and 2025.

At the same time, trust is not evenly distributed. Preferences vary by generation, with older donors tending to place higher trust in health and veterans organizations, while younger generations show stronger trust in causes such as animal welfare and civil rights.

Where Donors Look for Information Before Giving

Among donors who actively seek information before giving, the most influential resources remain charities’ own websites (54%) and third-party evaluators (39%).

AI Summaries Are Emerging, but Trust Still Starts Elsewhere

Notably, 2025 marks the first year AI summaries were included as a research option.

According to survey participants, AI-generated summaries still play a limited role in giving decisions, with only 7% of donors saying their giving choices are meaningfully influenced by AI summaries as of the end of 2025.

The Trust Gap Charities Still Need to Close

Despite these encouraging results, a persistent trust gap remains: 67.7% of respondents say trusting a charity is essential before donating, yet only 18.3% report high trust.

This gap has remained relatively stable over the past nine years and continues to shape donor behavior.

Taken together, the findings reflect a broader disconnect between opportunity and engagement.

See the Full Donor Trust Report

Visit the Give.org Donor Trust Report 2026: Trends in Donor Trust and Perspectives page to explore key findings and shareable infographics on donor openness to solicitation and the state of trust in the charitable sector.

• Key Report Findings & Infographics 
• Donor Openness to Solicitation (infographic)
• The State of Trust in the Charitable Sector (infographic)
• Download the Full Report (PDF)

Recent Reports

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:

• American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
• Hearing Health Foundation
• Hope for Haiti’s Children

Finally, remember to let us know by going to give.org/charity-inquiry if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.