Non-governmental organisations and charities are becoming less confident in their ability to manage reputational risks, leaving them potentially more exposed to financial and operational fallout from crises, according to the latest NGOs and Charities Reputational Risk Report from WTW.

The research, based on responses from 100 senior leaders across the sector, found only 9% have a formal process for assessing and managing reputational risks linked to board-level KPIs, while oversight of reputation-related risks at most board meetings fell to 34%, from 53% in 2023.

The decline in preparedness comes amid a “perfect storm” of reduced aid budgets, falling donations, rising costs and tighter political restrictions in some countries. Recent scandals have also highlighted the severe damage caused when public or government trust is lost.

Cyber risk has emerged as the top reputational threat, with 60% of respondents citing a cyber attack as a major concern, up from 27% last year. By contrast, the share naming customer abuse as a top risk dropped to 33%, from 49% in 2023 and 66% in 2022, suggesting improved safeguarding and vetting processes.

The survey also pointed to reduced stakeholder engagement, with just 30% engaging at least quarterly, down from 51% in 2023. C-suite engagement on social media fell to 52%, from 80% last year, suggesting leaders are focused on managing broader challenges.

Financial resilience remains low. Only 2% reported strong modelling capability to quantify the costs of reputational damage, and just 1% rated their overall resilience to a reputational crisis as "very good".

---