Written by one of the OxFizz Directors, a version of this article was first published by Think Publishing in Engage, the magazine of the National Council of Voluntary Organisations.

As Posh, Scary, Baby, Sporty and Ginger bopped in the official Comic Relief song of 1997, ‘I said who (oo oo) do you think you are?’. Inspired by the success of the BBC programme of the same name, library archivists are doing overtime as more and more people seek to revisit their family ancestry. As the National Council for Voluntary Organisations celebrates its 90th anniversary, it gives this commentator a welcome opportunity to champion charities to rediscover and reconnect with their roots.

A fundamental motivation to reflect on the origins of charities is to confront what may be one of the bigger challenges the sector will face in forthcoming years - that of trust. There is a debate to be had over the extent to which the public has confidence in charities. nfpSynergy’s research late last year suggests that 65% of British adults trust charities, commendably up from a nadir of 42% in 2007. One of the unique aspects of civil society organisations is trustworthiness, that informal bond with service users, donors and volunteers that charities need to thrive. Yet the fact that 1 in 3 people don’t claim they trust charities presents a real challenge.

Detractors of the sector - rightly or wrongly - level a number of criticisms at some charities. They might highlight a fundraising fatigue, tired of ‘chuggers’ and regular requests for donations. Some query the emotive advertising campaigns. Others question the relationship between charities and government, suggesting some have become an arm of the state - witness the newly set up FakeCharities.org. There is perhaps a feeling that some organisations are becoming disengaged from the public.

So what can history teach us? The foundation of philanthropy and charity isn’t a solely faith-based one, but for many religions the act of almsgiving was a central tenet. From this developed small, informal, voluntary-based grassroots organisations grounded in the local community. Most charities have started as a result of an individual or group of people inspired to change invidious problems of societal inequity. The charity I chair, Jacari, which teaches Oxfordshire children who don’t speak English as their first language, was set up by a handful of motivated students in 1956 and has a fascinating history. NVCO was founded in 1919 thanks to the legacy of one man, Edward Vivian Birchall.

The challenge third sector organisations face is how to develop from these initial historic roots to provide a better service for more people. How can the informal, volunteer-centric community groups - as most civil society organisations start off as being - develop into formal, structured, sustainable charities without losing the personalised, community-focused, special and unique quality that they start with?

It would be wrong to pretend there was ever a romantic halcyon era for charities. The early stages of existence can be an enormous challenge and stress. And yet in those formative stages a new charitable project has to be at its most bonded to the community. Unable to rely on a track record, the organisation has to be able to justify to supporters and funders that there is a need. This is only possible through a real community connection.

We have a lot to learn from our history. As civil society organisations we are rightly encouraged by governance textbooks to cherish our values. But while values often arise from our history, a focus on values is often at the expense of revisiting that history.

Sadly many historical archives have been lost, or some charities don’t have the time to collate records. But an internal focus on organisational roots, and an external championing of history, may help to see off the challenge of public confidence in the sector by ensuring charities retain the personalised and cohesive character that marked their foundation. So dust down and rustle through the yellowed parchment of your organisation’s history. And as the Spice Girls would say, ‘trust it, use it, prove it, groove it, show me how good you are’.