Earlier this month we released results which showed a marked decline in public trust in the charity sector as a whole between April and October 2015. With charities still reeling from the media attacks of the summer, these results appeared to confirm that the stories in the press were having a very real impact on how the public view charities. What’s more, the results were the continuation of a longer term trend of declining trust in charities that can be tracked back more than two years.

In recent times the charity sector has moved well beyond the idea that “brand” is only for the commercial sector and that engaging in any sort of advertising distracts charities’ focus from their core values and compassion. When Coca-Cola first came about as a brand it was just a specific name given to a brown fizzy drink in order to separate it from other brown fizzy drinks. But as we know, in contemporary marketing brand is much more than a name. Brand is everything about a service or a product. It is a specific perception that comes to our minds when we think of a brand.

Five priorities charities need to get correct if their brand is to reach its full potential.

The growing mistrust of charities in the media and among politicians calls into question how charities would like to be seen by their supporters or the wider public.

Brand awareness is a crucial asset for any charity to look after and grow, but raising your brand awareness in this day and age is hard. 

With countless negative stories and shouts of crisis, fundraising has some serious recovery steps to take. Rob White & a few nfpSynergy members of staff take a look at what those might be.

It’s been a tough few months for fundraising.

The complaints have rolled in. The media stories have been rolled out. Heads haven’t quite rolled, but people like William Shawcross have, quite justifiably, argued that the sector is in crisis.

Changing name is a huge decision for a charity. Getting it right can secure the long term future of a charity and boost awareness, reputation and income. Getting it wrong can be an expensive disaster and too often the decision is made without the proper care or research. Many charities have changed their name before and it’s a decision many more will go on to face.

With this in mind, we've written this free report to offer our thoughts and experiences. It looks at all of the following key questions:

In 2006, we wrote a first edition of Getting the Message across, but eight years later it is clear that the gap between how 21^st century charities work and how the public think they work remains substantial. In response to the resurgent public debate about charity expenditure, executive pay and a host of other broader trust issues, nfpSynergy held three focus groups earlier this year with charity donors of a range of professional backgrounds and ages.