PUBLIC TRUST IN CHARITIES : EVIDENCES FROM FINLAND AND SWEDEN

Abstract

Public sector across the globe is currently experiencing a decline in public trustand this issue has been widelydiscussed across the globe. While working as a fundraiser in summer 2018, the author discovered that charities are struggling to recruit and keep their regular donors. Donations from general people areone of the mainsources of charity funding. Individuals who donate to charities do not receive a direct benefit in exchange for their support to charities. Moreover, they don’t have all the necessary information, on which they can decide to donate. Trust is what facilitates the transactions between charities and donors in such a situation. Some studies, for instance by the European Fundraising Association shows that the number of donors in Finland and Sweden has declined. But research on public trust in Finland and Swedenis scarce. There is a gap incomprehensive studies of public trust in charities in Finland and Sweden. The key research aim of this thesis is to examine the level of public trust in Charities in Finland and Sweden. This thesis aims to answer the question "how is the situation of public trust in the charity sector in Finland and Sweden?" To answer the research questions two separate surveys were conducted to observe situation of public trust in Finnish and Swedish charity sectors. Another two separate surveys were conducted to observe the level of public trust in Greenpeace Finland (experiencing a decline in donor numbers) and Finnish Red Cross (experiencing growth in donor numbers) and its effects. Interviews wereconducted with fundraising manager of Finish Red Cross and Greenpeace Finland, and annual reports of these organizations were also analyzed in this thesis. Quantitative descriptive analysis of survey data and content analysis of qualitative interview data were done. Three main points can be highlighted inthis thesis. First, public trust in charity sector in Finland Sweden is in satisfactory level, which also means that there is room for improvements. Second, public trust is important for donors while makingdonation decisions and administrative efficiency, transparency and accountability are main determinants of their trust towards a charity organization. And the third, public trust is not the sole reason that determines the growth in donation collection in the charity organizations. Key words: Trust, Public Trust, Charity Organizations