The third sector, made up of charities, non-profits, and social enterprises, is vast, complex, and in many ways, unlike any other.
In England and Wales alone, there are around 185,000 charities, supported by millions of volunteers and trustees. That’s a huge ecosystem of organisations, all working towards meaningful change, often with limited budgets, competing priorities, and high expectations.
And that’s exactly why market research for the third sector matters.
But when you get it right? It can shape better decisions, stronger campaigns, and more meaningful connections with the people who matter most.
This guide covers how to approach market research for the third sector, from choosing the right methodology to recruiting the right participants.
What makes research in the third sector different?
At a glance, research is research. But in practice, third sector work comes with its own set of challenges.
You’re often dealing with:
- Sensitive topics – health, finances, vulnerability, lived experiences
- Hard-to-reach or underrepresented audiences
- Ethical considerations and safeguarding responsibilities
- Tight budgets and internal resource constraints
- Multiple audiences – donors, beneficiaries, volunteers – each with different needs
Research in this space needs to be handled carefully. Thoughtfully. In a way that genuinely reflects people’s realities and experiences.
And unlike many commercial projects, there’s often a greater need for flexibility and participant support throughout the process.
A methodology that works perfectly well in a standard consumer study may unintentionally exclude certain audiences in a charity setting. Long Zoom sessions, written pre-tasks, or heavily visual exercises aren’t always suitable for participants managing health conditions, lower digital confidence, fatigue, or accessibility barriers.
That’s why third sector research needs more than a standardised approach. It needs thoughtful recruitment, accessible design, and a genuine understanding of the people taking part.
Why qualitative research is essential in the third sector
If you’re working in the third sector, you’re not just looking at what people do – you’re trying to understand why they donate, who they trust, and what makes them engage or drift away.
That’s where qualitative research comes into its own.
Through approaches like:
- In-depth interviews with donors
- Focus groups exploring campaign messaging
- Online communities for ongoing engagement
…you start to uncover the context behind behaviour, not just the behaviour itself.
And that matters, because quantitative data alone doesn’t always tell the full story.
It can show you who is currently donating, engaging, or responding. But it won’t always reveal which audiences feel disconnected, overlooked, or excluded altogether.
That’s one of the biggest challenges in third sector research. It’s easy to develop tunnel vision around existing supporters and hear repeatedly from the same engaged audiences.
Often, the most valuable insight comes from the voices charities aren’t already hearing from regularly.
Reaching the right participants for charity research
There’s a simple truth in research: Your insight is only as good as the people you speak to.
If your participants aren’t right, your findings won’t be either.
Using your existing network
For many charities, existing supporters, beneficiaries, or volunteers are the natural starting point.
These are people who already:
- Donate
- Engage with your campaigns
- Use your services
That makes them highly relevant, and often cost-effective to reach.
In research terms, this is often referred to as list recruitment – using your own database or community to find the right participants.
It’s particularly useful for:
- Donor research
- Beneficiary feedback
- Understanding existing relationships and experiences
But it does come with limitations.
Existing supporters are often easier to recruit and more willing to participate, but they don’t always reflect the people charities are wanting to reach.
That can unintentionally create a narrow picture of audience behaviour, particularly if research only captures the views of the most engaged participants.
Reaching new or underrepresented audiences
There are times when your existing network isn’t enough.
Especially when you’re:
- Trying to engage new audiences
- Expanding into different demographics
- Testing new campaigns or propositions
- Exploring why certain groups aren’t engaging
Different audiences often require completely different recruitment approaches.
Younger audiences may respond well to community-led conversations and social-first communication, while older participants may prefer phone contact and require more reassurance around the legitimacy of the research itself.
Accessibility also plays a major role here. Some participants may have lower digital confidence, caring responsibilities, health conditions, or previous negative experiences that affect how comfortable they feel taking part in research.
A one-size-fits-all approach rarely works well in charity research.
Working with a specialist charity recruitment agency
There’s a big difference between having access to participants and running recruitment well.
That’s where a specialist charity recruitment agency comes in.
It’s not simply about finding people. It’s about managing the entire process properly – from writing effective screeners to keeping participants engaged and supported throughout the project.
That can include:
- Proper screening and validation
- Managing participant communication and reminders
- Supporting accessibility adjustments
- Handling safeguarding and consent considerations
- Managing no-shows, dropouts, and rescheduling
- Reaching harder-to-reach or niche audiences
For internal teams already stretched across multiple responsibilities, that operational side of research can quickly become difficult to manage alone.
And expectations can sometimes become unrealistic too, particularly when projects involve highly niche audiences, multiple layers of criteria, or very short timelines.
In many cases, focusing on the two or three criteria that matter most leads to stronger participation and more useful insight.
A good fieldwork partner should also be honest about what is and isn’t realistically achievable, rather than overpromising on recruitment.
Common challenges (and how to overcome them)
Research in the third sector comes with its own unique challenges.
Budgets can be tight, audiences can be difficult to reach, and trust if often hard-earned.
But with the right approach, those challenges can become opportunities to gather more meaningful, useful insight.
1. Reaching beyond your existing supporters
One of the biggest challenges in third sector research is avoiding the same familiar voices.
Existing supporters are valuable to speak to, but they don’t always reflect the people charities are struggling to reach.
Our own charity research found:
- Only 31% are aware of workplace charity partnerships
- 44% rarely or never hear about charitable activity
That’s important, because it suggests many organisations may be communicating within existing circles rather than reaching new audiences effectively.
Good research helps charities understand:
- Why some groups engage while others don’t
- Which audiences feel overlooked or disconnected
- How behaviours and expectations differ across generations and demographics
The wider the range of voices included in your research, the more useful and representative your insight becomes.
2. Designing accessible research
Accessibility directly affects the quality of your insight.
If research feels difficult, intimidating, exhausting, or impractical to take part in, many people simply won’t participate.
And in charity research, accessibility challenges are often more complex than organisations initially expect.
Older audiences may feel uncomfortable with technology or distrustful of market research altogether. Carers are often short on time and difficult to schedule. Participants with health conditions may struggle with long sessions or highly visual exercises.
That’s why accessibility needs to be considered throughout the entire research experience.
In practice, this might involve:
- Offering phone, online, and in-person participation options
- Keeping sessions shorter and less fatiguing
- Avoiding overly visual exercises that may not work for all participants
- Scheduling flexibly around caring responsibilities
- Providing meaningful incentives for busy carers and support networks
- Using clear, jargon-free communication throughout the process
Sometimes, it’s the smaller considerations that matter most.
In one project, a visually impaired participant was expected to navigate a large university campus alone to attend a research session. We advised the client to arrange for someone to meet them and walk them to the facility instead – a simple adjustment that made the experience significantly more accessible and welcoming.
Because accessible research isn’t just about inclusion on paper. It’s about creating an environment where people feel comfortable, supported, and genuinely able to take part.
3. Building trust with donors and supporters
Trust sits at the centre of everything in the third sector.
Interestingly, our charity pulse survey found:
- 66% of people would accept small donation increases
- But 50% want more transparency
- And 25% want clearer impact stories
That tells an important story: people aren’t necessarily resistant to supporting charities financially. But they do want reassurance that their contribution is making a meaningful difference.
Research helps charities understand:
- What builds trust with supporters
- Which communication feels authentic
- Where reassurance or transparency is lacking
- How audiences want impact to be communicated
In many cases, supporters respond more positively to specific examples, visible outcomes, and honest communication than broad mission-led messaging alone.
4. Budget constraints
Budget pressures are a reality for most charities.
But effective research doesn’t always mean expensive research. It means being intentional.
That starts with:
- Being clear on your objectives
- Choosing the right methodology
- Prioritising insight quality over volume
- Designing studies that maximise learning realistically
In some cases, a small number of well-run depth interviews can provide more useful insight than a large survey with unclear objectives.
Research also becomes far more cost-effective when recruitment expectations are realistic from the outset and projects are tightly focused around the questions that matter most.
Recommended reading: 9 Tips for Cost-Effective Market Research for Charities
What good charity research should uncover
At its best, research in the third sector helps you answer the questions that really matter:
- Why do people engage with certain causes but not others?
- What barriers are stopping people from participating or donating?
- Which audiences feel overlooked or disconnected?
- How are your campaigns genuinely being received?
- What builds trust, confidence, and long-term engagement?
These aren’t surface-level insights.
They’re the kind that shape strategy, messaging, and long-term relationships.
Final thought
At its core, market research in the third sector is about understanding people properly.
That means designing research that reflects the realities of the audiences taking part, reaches beyond the easiest voices to recruit, and creates an experience people feel comfortable engaging with.
And in a sector where budgets are stretched and expectations are high, thoughtful, well-run research can make a significant difference.
Want to run charity market research that genuinely reflects the people you’re trying to reach?
We help charities connect with the right participants, design accessible research approaches, and uncover insight grounded in real experiences.
Get in touch to see how we can support your next project.
