Trust in 'Government' Overtakes 'NPO' | What Fund Management Systems Are Required for Organizations Seeking Donations? A Survey of 3,000 People on NPO Trustworthiness

The Japan Nonprofit Organization Evaluation Center (JCNE), Japan's first nationwide third-party certification body for evaluating nonprofit organizations (located in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Chairman: Daigo Sato), announced the results of its 'Awareness Survey on NPO Trustworthiness,' a continuous survey since 2023, conducted in March 2026.

Reality of Public Trust in NPOs

Twenty-eight years after the enforcement of the Specified Nonprofit Activities Promotion Law, the actors solving social issues have expanded beyond NPOs to a wide range of fields, and NPOs themselves are increasingly collaborating with other sectors. Meanwhile, in an era where information transparency is demanded of all organizations, the need for supporters to judge appropriate and trustworthy NPOs is growing year by year. In response, JCNE, Japan's first nationwide, cross-sector evaluation and certification body for nonprofit organizations, has been conducting a survey since 2023 to clarify the reality of public trust in NPOs, methods for gaining trust, and the relationship between trust awareness and donation intentions.

This third year of the continuous survey examined changes over three years and introduced new questions focusing on information disclosure and donation fund management systems. In previous surveys, over 50% of respondents selected 'information is disclosed' as an element of a trustworthy NPO. This survey verified what information disclosure specifically entails. Additionally, in relation to the 'fund management' category of the Good Giving Mark system launched in April 2025, the survey delved into what kind of fund management systems the general public expects from NPOs that handle support funds like donations and grants.

[Survey Summary]

Overall organizational trust ranked in the order of 'Private Companies,' 'Government,' 'NPOs,' and 'Mass Media.' 'Private Companies' and 'Government' improved by more than 5 points, with 'Government' overtaking 'NPOs.' However, the percentage of respondents who said they trust NPOs was 21.3%, showing little change from the 1 in 5 people in the 2023 (20.2%) and 2024 (21.9%) surveys.

The most common reason for not donating was 'lack of financial leeway,' accounting for about 40% of all respondents. Regarding the importance of third-party certification when donating, 56.7% of all respondents said they 'value it (total).' Even among those who do not trust NPOs, 52.5% 'value it (total),' indicating that the presence or absence of third-party certification is considered important in selecting donation recipients.

For the new question about what information, if disclosed, would make them trust an NPO when donating for the first time, 'use of donations' was the highest for all respondents, followed by 'external audit,' 'income breakdown,' and 'activities.' Both those who trust NPOs and those who do not rated 'use of donations' highly at around 30%.

Analysis of reasons (free responses) for the most important public information for NPO trust revealed a structure where trust is formed step-by-step, starting with financial confirmation as a base, then building information in the order of finance > systems > actual activities > people.

Regarding trustworthy internal donation fund management systems for NPOs, 'internal check system where donation management is handled by multiple people' was the highest for all respondents, followed by 'thorough implementation of fraud prevention rules such as cash management and payment approval.'

1. NPO Trustworthiness: 'Government' Overtakes 'NPO'

Organizational trust was highest for 'Private Companies' at 32.0%, followed by 'Government' at 28.5%, 'Social Welfare Corporations (among NPOs)' at 23.3%, 'Public Interest Corporations (among NPOs)' at 22.4%, and 'NPOs' at 21.3%. 'Certified NPO Corporations' scored 20.3%, and trust improved when explanations like 'eligible for donation deduction' (2024 survey) or 'tax preferential treatment' (2023 survey) were not added, suggesting distrust towards terms like 'tax deduction' or 'tax benefits.' Compared to the 2023 and 2024 surveys, trust in all four sectors ('Government,' 'Private Companies,' 'Mass Media,' 'NPOs') increased, but 'Private Companies' and 'Government' improved by more than 5 points, with 'Government' overtaking 'NPOs.' In the past two years, 'Private Companies' and 'NPOs' were rated higher than 'Government' and 'Mass Media.'

Q17: Do you think you can trust the following organizations? (Multiple answers allowed)

2. Reason for Not Donating: 'Lack of Financial Leeway' at 40%. 'Value Third-Party Certification' in Donation Selection at 60%.

The most common reason for not donating was 'lack of financial leeway,' accounting for about 40% of all respondents. This was followed by 'no opportunity to donate' at 18.1% and 'difficulty seeing the effect after donating' at 16.3%. Among those who do not trust NPOs, 'no trustworthy NPOs, feeling of distrust' was 17.1%, highlighting that many people refrain from donating due to distrust.

Q7: Please select the reasons that apply for not donating (excluding hometown tax donations). (Multiple answers) Asked to those who have not donated (excluding hometown tax donations) between January and December 2025.

Meanwhile, regarding the importance of third-party certification when donating, 56.7% of all respondents said they 'value it (total).' Even among those who do not trust NPOs, 52.5% 'value it (total),' clearly showing that the presence or absence of third-party certification is a significant factor in selecting donation recipients.

Q9: If you were to make a donation, would you value a third-party certification system or mark that 'guarantees the organization's trustworthiness' when choosing where to donate?

3. When Donating, 'Use of Donations,' 'External Audit,' and 'Income Breakdown' Being Disclosed Makes It Trustworthy.

Elements of a trustworthy NPO included 'information is disclosed' (57.4%), 'presence of a contact point' (56.4%), 'no connection with antisocial forces' (55.3%), 'no human rights violations in activities' (54.9%), 'no administrative sanctions' (54.8%), 'proper accounting' (52.3%), and 'no criminal record for executives' (52.0%). All exceeded 50%, with percentages and rankings remaining almost unchanged over three years.

Q19: Do you think the following items apply as necessary elements for a 'trustworthy NPO'? (Multiple answers)

Furthermore, the 2025 survey introduced a new question asking respondents to select what information, if disclosed, would make them trust an NPO when donating for the first time. For all respondents, 'use of donations' was the highest, followed by 'external audit,' 'income breakdown,' and 'activities.' Both those who trust NPOs and those who do not rated 'use of donations' highly at around 30%.

Furthermore, analysis of reasons (free responses) for the most important public information for NPO trust revealed a structure where trust is formed step-by-step, starting with financial confirmation as a base, then building information in the order of finance > systems > actual activities > people.

Q22: When you are considering donating for the first time, please select what information about the NPO, if disclosed, would make you feel 'I can trust this.' (Up to 3 choices)

4. General Public Also Values Donation Fund Management Systems. 'Mul