Contents
- Public trust in nonprofit organizations statistics: U.S. trust trends
- Public trust in nonprofit organizations statistics: Trust by nonprofit cause
- Public trust in nonprofit organizations statistics: Generational differences in charity trust
- Public trust in nonprofit organizations statistics: Trust compared with other institutions
- Public trust in nonprofit organizations statistics: Trust in advocacy and elections
- Public trust in nonprofit organizations statistics: What builds or affects trust
- Sources
Public trust in nonprofit organizations statistics: U.S. trust trends
The available U.S. measures show that reported high trust in nonprofits moved within a relatively narrow band across 2020–2024, with a low point in 2023 and a higher reading in 2024. Independent Sector’s 2024 report asked respondents how much they trusted nonprofit organizations to do what is right, using a 9-point scale. It classified scores of 7–9 as “high trust.” The survey’s total base was 3,000 in 2024, and the report notes bases of 3,000 in 2020 and 5,000 in 2021. These readings describe the share in the high-trust range, not everyone who expressed any degree of trust.
| Survey year | Reporting high trust in nonprofit organizations |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 59% |
| 2021 | 57% |
| 2022 | 56% |
| 2023 | 52% |
| 2024 | 57% |
Source: Independent Sector, 2024 report, p. 14
A separate Independent Sector survey reported that 56% of Americans had high trust in nonprofit organizations in 2026. It surveyed 3,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and older from April 3–20, 2026, and was described as nationally representative across race, income, education, gender, age, and region. Its reported margin of error was ±2 percentage points. The similarity to the 2024 figure is a useful point of context, but the two readings come from separate survey editions. The 2024 report specifies the 7–9 threshold; the supplied 2026 description does not give that scale definition, so the two percentages should not be assumed to be perfectly interchangeable.
Source: Independent Sector, Trust in Nonprofits and Philanthropy (2026)
Public trust in nonprofit organizations statistics: Trust by nonprofit cause
In 2024, Independent Sector asked about trust in types of nonprofit organizations. The following percentages are the shares reporting high trust, defined in the report as scores of 7–9 on its 9-point question about whether an entity does what is right. They show variation by subsector: human services recorded the highest listed result, while civic organizations recorded the lowest among these eight categories. These are perceptions of categories, not a ranking of individual organizations or an assessment of their performance.
| Nonprofit subsector | High trust, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Human services | 66% |
| Animals and wildlife | 61% |
| Health organizations | 59% |
| Youth development | 57% |
| Museums, theaters, and orchestras | 56% |
| Places of worship | 52% |
| Civil rights | 51% |
| Environmental advocacy | 50% |
| Civic organizations | 45% |
Source: Independent Sector, 2024 report, p. 15
The figures do not mean that every respondent trusted one cause and distrusted another. Each is a separate category reading from the same survey base of 3,000 U.S. respondents. The reported percentages give a view of how often respondents placed each category in the high-trust range; the remaining responses are not described here as outright distrust. Differences between categories can guide discussion of public perceptions, but the dataset does not establish why a category received its particular result.
Public trust in nonprofit organizations statistics: Generational differences in charity trust
GIVE.org’s December 2025 survey identified the most-trusted charity category for each generation and reported the percentage attached to that category. Its population was U.S. adult electronic survey respondents. The report defines Gen Alpha adults as ages 18–20, Gen Z as 21–27, Millennials as 28–44, Gen X as 45–60, Boomers as 61–79, and Matures as 80 and above.
| Generation (age range in report) | Most-trusted charity category | Reported share |
|---|---|---|
| Gen Alpha (18–20) | Animal welfare organizations | 33% |
| Gen Alpha (18–20) | Civil rights and community action organizations | 33% |
| Gen Z (21–27) | Religious organizations | 27% |
| Millennials (28–44) | Animal welfare organizations | 28% |
| Gen X (45–60) | Veterans organizations | 30% |
| Boomers (61–79) | Religious organizations | 29% |
| Matures (80 and above) | Health organizations | 32% |
Source: GIVE.org, Donor Trust Report 2026, p. 8
The chart reports 2 categories for Gen Alpha at 33% each, while it names 1 leading category for each of the other listed generations. This is a report-specific comparison of preferred or most-trusted categories, not a measure of the percentage of each generation that trusts charities overall. The survey included more than 1,500 U.S. adults and reported a margin of error of ±2.5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. GIVE.org also notes that online collection may underrepresent donors who prefer physical solicitations. Those details matter when reading the generational callouts as survey results rather than fixed characteristics of everyone in an age group.
Public trust in nonprofit organizations statistics: Trust compared with other institutions
GIVE.org also presented paired comparisons in December 2025, asking respondents to choose whether they trusted charities or another institution more. In each pair, charities were selected more often than the named counterpart. The largest charity share in these 3 comparisons was against government, and the smallest was against businesses.
| Paired comparison | Chose charities | Chose comparison institution |
|---|---|---|
| Charities or businesses | 69% | Businesses 31% |
| Charities or media | 84% | Media 16% |
| Charities or government | 85% | Government 15% |
Source: GIVE.org, Donor Trust Report 2026, p. 9
These paired-choice results describe a relative preference within each comparison. They do not show that 69%, 84%, or 85% of respondents had high trust in charities on an independent scale, nor do they establish how people would rate institutions if asked about them separately. They are also from GIVE.org’s electronic survey and should not be combined with Independent Sector’s 9-point high-trust results as though both used the same question or definition.
Public trust in nonprofit organizations statistics: Trust in advocacy and elections
The 2025 Health of the U.S. Nonprofit Sector report measured high trust in nonprofits performing election and public-policy activities. Its Figure 27 reports the following shares for specific tasks. Trust was highest among these listed activities for providing people with information to help them vote, while the lowest listed result was for assisting in writing or revising laws and regulations. The percentages describe trust in organizations doing the named work, not participation rates or the share of nonprofits that perform it.
| Nonprofit activity | High trust, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Provide people with information to help them vote | 35% |
| Publicly advocate for policy issues | 32% |
| Help ensure elections are conducted freely and fairly | 31% |
| Meet with government officials about the work the nonprofit is doing | 31% |
| Fact-check claims made by political candidates | 30% |
| Conduct nonpartisan voter registration drives | 29% |
| Provide factual, unbiased information about political candidates and policy issues | 29% |
| Assist in the writing or revision of laws and regulations | 27% |
Source: Independent Sector, Health of the U.S. Nonprofit Sector Report 2025, p. 31, Figure 27
A related figure in the same report says 27% of Americans had high trust in nonprofits to remain politically neutral during elections. That measure concerns perceived neutrality, a distinct expectation from trust in any one activity listed above. Taken together, the reported values provide a snapshot of trust around civic roles during 2025; they do not explain what respondents considered neutral or what drove their views.
Source: Independent Sector, Health of the U.S. Nonprofit Sector Report 2025, p. 24
Public trust in nonprofit organizations statistics: What builds or affects trust
Independent Sector’s 2026 findings asked about factors that would positively affect trust. Transparency featured in 2 questions: 74% said transparency about how nonprofits use funds would positively affect their trust, and 73% said the same about transparency regarding where nonprofit funding comes from. Another 62% said their trust would be positively affected by a governing board that includes people who have used the organization’s services. These are stated influences on trust, not experimental evidence that adopting a particular practice will produce a measured increase in trust. The survey covered 3,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and older and was fielded April 3–20, 2026.
Source: Independent Sector, Trust in Nonprofits and Philanthropy (2026)
Geographic focus also appears in Charity Commission research covering England and Wales. A 2024 GOV.UK publication states that 40% of people questioned were more likely to trust a charity focused on their local area, compared with 19% who were more likely to trust one working across the country. The passage does not specify the survey year for these figures. They express comparative likelihood, so they should not be read as overall trust levels or compared directly with U.S. high-trust shares.
The Charity Commission’s 2023 results also record public perceptions of what charities are like. In England and Wales, 73% said charities were making an impact, 63% said they were well run, and 61% said they operated to ethical standards. A further 59% said charities delivered a high proportion of the money they raise to those they are trying to help, while 51% said charities treated their people well. These are separate perceptions, not measures of the same underlying attribute. They offer a view of the dimensions people associate with charities, but do not establish that any one perception causes trust.
Source: GOV.UK, Public trust in charities and the role and experience of trustees
The same 2024 publication reports that 98% of trustees said they were very or fairly confident about governing their charity. The passage does not specify the underlying survey year. Trustee confidence is a report of trustees’ own views, rather than a public trust measure, so it provides organizational context but cannot stand in for how the public evaluates charities. Read alongside public perceptions of impact, governance, ethics, financial delivery, and treatment of staff, it shows that trust-related evidence can concern different groups and different questions. Those distinctions are essential when comparing a trustee’s confidence with the public’s assessment of nonprofit organizations.
Source: GOV.UK, Public trust in charities and the role and experience of trustees
Sources
- Trust in Nonprofits and Philanthropy (2026)
- Independent Sector Trust in Nonprofits and Philanthropy (2024 report)
- GIVE.org Donor Trust Report 2026: Trends in Donor Trust and Perspectives
- Health of the U.S. Nonprofit Sector Report 2025
- Public trust in charities and the role and experience of trustees (2024)