January 12, 2006 | Read Time: 1 minute
The AARP and the National Rifle Association are better known than 11 other advocacy groups that focus on influencing federal policy, a new poll has found.
The poll also found that the Nature Conservancy, an environmental charity in Arlington, Va., ranked as the most-trusted organization, with the AARP following closely behind. Seventy-nine percent of those familiar with the Nature Conservancy said they either trusted the organization a “great deal” or a “fair amount.” Of the 89 percent that said they were familiar with the AARP, 77 percent said they trusted the group.
The Nature Conservancy’s high score in trustworthiness comes after a two-year Senate Finance Committee investigation into its sales of land and other policies prompted the group to make many changes in its operations. The poll of 1,718 respondents was conducted online in November 2005 by Harris Interactive.
For organizations like the National Rifle Association and the American Civil Liberties Union, how trustworthy they are considered is closely tied to the political affiliation of the respondent.
Overall, 48 percent of those polled deemed the National Rifle Association trustworthy — 73 percent of Republicans said they trust the organization, while only 32 percent of Democrats trust the group. Alternately, 71 percent of Democrats, and only 19 percent of Republicans, said they trusted the American Civil Liberties Union.
But other organizations in the poll were considered trustworthy by both Democrats and Republicans. For example, the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit think tank in Washington, has won support from people in both parties: 71 percent of Republicans and 65 percent of Democrats find the group trustworthy.
Copies of the poll results can be found online at http://www.harrisinteractive.com.
