Is the 'Mark of Trust' what consumers are searching for?

Generosity is part of being human. From what we’ve seen, people have a natural inclination to give, to support others and help where they can. And there are many ways to donate as a response; from rounding up purchases, shaking buckets, and direct donations, individuals actively seek ways to support causes close to their hearts. However, we’ve witnessed more and more people asking where and how the money they donate is being used.

In New Zealand, there's a growing desire for transparency in charitable donations. Donors want to know where their money is going and whether it's reaching those in need, or if it’s being used elsewhere. With the likes of Givealittle and other donation platforms only growing in popularity, this is going to become all the more important. Here in New Zealand it’s not heavily regulated and it can feel like we’re just trusting that business or person to pass the donations on to the charity as promised. This means more is being asked of the businesses and charities that run donation drives.

A third-party assurance that donations are being used correctly is one of the benefits we’ve heard back from businesses - that we provide them with a “mark of trust”. It’s that extra layer of legitimacy for their customers knowing that there is an external party who makes sure that donations are used as they’ve been marketed.

We predict that consumers are going to gravitate more towards marks of trust and similar assurances and that this transparency will continue to become more and more important. You only have to look at the news during Cyclone Gabrielle here in NZ to see this is front of mind for many, with confusion over what option, organisation or donation fund was the “safest” to support.

We’re interested in hearing your thoughts on this. Are you more inclined to donate when you can have full visibility over where the money goes, or are you happy to trust it will be okay?

And does it depend on the size of your donation, or does that not come into play?

Let’s have a chinwag.