Public benefit is at the heart of what charities are about. By reporting on public benefit, trustees identify that their charity is effectively doing what it was set up to do and is making a difference to its beneficiaries.
Our latest study found that half of a sample of 106 trustees’ annual reports that we reviewed demonstrated a clear understanding of the public benefit reporting requirement. The other half did not consider what difference they had made to their beneficiaries and/ or did not include the required statement that the trustees had considered our guidance on public benefit reporting.
Our findings pose the question of whether these trustees had given little thought to the difference that their charity’s activities made to its beneficiaries and/or saw little need to communicate this to those that support or fund the charity and to the wider public.
