IF YOU SUPPORT A CHARITY, there's a good chance that you are a bit annoyed with it. If you're like most people, you'll worry that it spends too much on administration and wastes your cash sending out fundraising mailshots.

Such doubts are usually misplaced. The majority of charities spend very little on admin and fundraising.

But most people either do not know - or do not believe - the figures. As a result, charities are finding it increasingly hard to keep to donors' trust, and there are signs that levels of giving are going down.

What's to be done? If you are a charity supporter, there's probably a simple solution. If you suspect your favourite charity of waste, give them a ring and ask them to explain how they make their spending decisions. Charities are legally required only to spend money on things that will make the world a better place - so if you think they're doing something else, ask them about it. Usually, the charity will be happy to explain.

But from the charities' perspective, things look more gloomy. Regaining the trust of the nation is tricky. But talking to supporters - and putting right their misconceptions - would be a good start. And thanks to the internet, this does not have to be hard. It can even be free.

"This is a wasted opportunity of astonishing proportions"

Free and easy communication comes in the form of the blog. Yet British do-gooder sare appallingly bad bloggers. With the only two exceptions - Shelter's Adam Sampson and acevo's Stephen Bubb - not a single UK charity bigwig has taken to the medium.

This is a wasted opportunity of astonishing proportions. Charity bosses don't need a pay-rise to knock out the odd hundred-word blog entry; and there's a variety of free blogging tools out there, which anyone can use.

It's a simple equation: people are annoyed about charities, and that annoyance stems from a lack of understanding. So charities should correct those misconceptions in the cheapest and easiest way possible. And that means they should be writing blogs.

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