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Level of Confidence in Institutions
One of the assumptions made in these surveys is that public attitudes can affect the climate for giving and volunteering. An emerging pattern illustrates that public attitudes toward charitable organizations influence giving and volunteering.
When respondents were asked their level of confidence in various institutions, human service organizations, private higher education, religious organizations, and youth development organizations were ranked highest among charitable organizations. Among institutions at large, small business, the military, public higher education, and public elementary or secondary education were ranked highest. Public confidence in most institutions in society increased in 1998, but the increases were greater in private, charitable organizations.
Public Attitudes On the Roles of Charitable Organizations 1994-1999
Of particular note was the high level of confidence expressed in human service organizations such as homeless shelters, soup kitchens and employment programs. Human service organizations experienced a great increase in the level of confidence (from 37%
to 68%) which may be, in part, due to detailed descriptions of the type of organizations within this category.3 An increased level of confidence in human service organizations was reflected in higher levels of people making larger contributions. In general, almost all types of charitable organizations instilled higher levels of public confidence than Congress, the federal government, local governments, or private interest groups.
There were changes in public attitudes about charitable organizations in 1999 compared with previous survey years. Since 1992, the economy has strengthened, coinciding with a decline in the percentage of the population reporting that the need for charitable organizations is greater today than five years ago - 88% in 1992, 78% in 1996, and 74% in 1999.
There has been a steady increase in the percentage of respondents who agreed that charitable organizations are more effective now than five years ago, from 55% in 1994, 58% in 1996 and 62% in 1999. In 1999, 57% disagreed with the statement that they believed that most nonprofits were wasteful in their use of funds, a 4 percentage point increase since 1995; 76% agreed that
generally charities play a major role in their communities, a 5 percentage point increase since 1996; and 61% disagreed that generally, charitable organizations make very little diff e rence in dealing with major problems, a 4 percentage point increase since 1996. In 1999, 69% agreed that charitable organizations play an important role in speaking out on important issues. There was also a slight increase in the percentage of respondents who believed that most charitable organizations were honest and ethical in their use of funds, from 60% in 1996 to 62% in 1999.
Respondents also were queried about their attitudes about the role and responsibilities of government. In 1999, 67% of respondents agreed that government has a responsibility to care for those who cannot take care of themselves, an increase of over 7 percentage points since 1996 but nowhere near the 1988 level of over 80%. Another 69% disagreed that government is spending too much on programs to help the poor, up from 60% in 1996, and its highest level since 1988 when this survey began.
Respondents who expressed positive attitudes toward charitable organizations gave and volunteered at much higher rates than those who had negative attitudes. In 1999, Americans felt more positive towards charitable organizations than in 1996. The confidence people have in the way money is used has increased slightly since the early 1990s compared to four years ago, are more supportive of government responsibility toward people in poverty or those who are unable to take care of themselves.
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