Mondo
CSR affects charities too
At a time when many UK charities are facing a tough funding environment, a UK survey finds that how charities invest their money affects the way people perceive them.
di Staff
The survey, called ‘What is the UK public’s opinion of charitable investments’ was conducted by the EIRIS Foundation and the Holly Hill Charitable Trust to gauge current opinions of charitable investments. The survey found that 78 per cent of the UK public would think worse of a charity if they found out it had funds invested in activities that run contrary to its specific work and values.
It is becoming increasingly important for charities to be accountable and transparent in all that they do and the general public expects the financial investments that charities make to further their mission, not counter it. According to 74 per cent of respondents, large charities should adopt ethical investment policies. In the current economic climate, at a time when, according to ACEVO, charities could face up to 4.5 billion pounds less funding in the next year, charities cannot afford to alienate their supporters and donors by making bad investments.
“Our survey provides clear evidence that the British public expect charities to be fully transparent and to think more about the environmental and social impacts that their investments have,” said Mark Robertson, head of communications at EIRIS. At the same time, the survey indicated that 89 per cent of respondents were not familiar with the investments or investment policies of the charities they donated to.
