Americans’ trust in charity steady amid pandemic, poll finds

By DAN PARKS of The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Chronicle of Philanthropy

After years of declines, Americans’ trust in civil-rights and community-action charities increased in 2020, according to a new study, which also found that trust in charities overall held steady as millions more Americans came to rely on nonprofits amid the pandemic. The share of people with high trust in civil-rights and community-action groups fell steadily from 25% in 2017 to 13% in 2019 before reversing course in 2020 to 16%, according to the annual “Profiles in Charity Trust and Giving” survey, conducted by Give.org, a charity evaluator affiliated with the Better Business Bureau.