Image and Reputational Characteristics of UK Charitable Organizations: An Empirical Study

Abstract

One hundred and sixty-one members of the general public were questioned about their perceptions of the images and reputations of major UK charities. It emerged that variation within the response data was best accounted for by a restricted model wherein specific aspects of charity ‘image’, on the one hand, and charity ‘reputation’ on the other, represented particular subdivisions of each construct. Thus, image and reputation were not seen as elements of the same single concept. The factors underlying charity image related to compassion, dynamism, idealism, focus on beneficiaries and being seen as ‘non-political’. Charity reputation, conversely, was largely determined by first the variables found in the Fortune corporate reputation index and, secondly, whether a charity was regarded as ‘well known’ by respondents. It appeared that a charity's image and reputation exerted a strong influence on donor behavior.