Trust Matters

We see it all the time. Surveys of trust levels of portions of our federal, state, and local governments, big corporations, large organizations, and even of each other. All of them on the downslide. And yet recently released news shows that the nonprofit sector is amongst the most trusted anywhere in our country.

In the third annual Trust in Civil Society, published by Independent Sector, 56% of Americans say that they have a high level of trust in nonprofits, just down from a few years ago. Small businesses are the only similarly trusted area from the public. In comparison, less than 1/3 of those surveyed say they have a trust in any form of government, large corporations, or even the news media. Even in more detail, integrity and purpose are the most important aspects of this level of trust in nonprofits.

One of the ways in which nonprofits, according to the survey, lose trust is issues involving mismanagement of funds, corruption, and scandals. And while those issues reach the headlines of the local news more quickly, they are very much less frequent than in other sectors of our economy.

I talk often about the work done by Gerald Panis in his book Mega Gifts. He spoke about, from his research, how donors make decisions about nonprofit giving. And while many executives in nonprofits have one perspective, donors are pretty clear. Trust in good financial standing or stability is key to a donor making a decision.

This study bodes well for the possibilities of nonprofits going forward. But we can’t take it for granted. Every day, integrity and trust have to be at the forefront of what we do and how we communicate. Keeping those levels of trust is critical for nonprofit success.