How trust and relationships impact on the giving decisions of philanthropists

Abstract Numerous studies have sought to understand why philanthropists are not giving more to charity. Two recently published studies identified a lack of faith in charities and an absence of trust as significant barriers to philanthropy. We report on the findings of a qualitative study which sought to examine the extent to which trust, and relationships influence the wealthy to give or withhold funding to charities. We employed in‐depth qualitative research methods and semi‐structured, conversational‐style, interviews as the major form of data collection. We utilised Braun and Clarke's ‘reflexive thematic analysis’ method of thematic analysis which gave rise to 4 key themes and 9 sub‐themes. Findings revealed that trust underpins the relationships that philanthropists have with charities and is an important conduit to forging an ongoing relationship. Trust is frequently relied upon as a proxy for evidence and an absence of trust will usually lead a philanthropist to withhold funding.