Katya's Non-Profit Marketing Blog | Transparency is the new black

Transparency is the new black

The funds of the first bailout package—your tax money - went where? To what end? How are you feeling about Bernie Madoff? How is your trust level in any financial institution?

How is the trust level in us?

As a “good organization” - aka nonprofit, you may think people trust you. Sadly, plenty of research has suggested otherwise, for a long time. People are skeptical about all organizations.

In this environment, everyone needs to go out of their way to be highly transparent and accountable. Show where they money goes, in all your outreach.

Our new president is posting a lot of what he’s doing online - he knows the national mood.

Transparency is the new black, nonprofit marketeers.

You can’t show enough of it.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/25 at 09:00 AM

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Comments

Thanks for reminding everyone of the importance of transparence and accountability. It is timely advice!

I am constantly reminding nonprofits of the three things donors really want:

1)They want to know where their money is going
2 Donors want to see the results of their giving
3)They love to hear “Thank you”

Nonprofits should structure their websites, organizational processes and strategies, correspondence, email campaigns, benefits, donor interactions, etc. with transparency and accountability in the forefront.

Please let your readers know that Make The Difference Network (http://www.mtdn.com) has a FREE entry-level Nonprofit membership that provides some powerful tools to help address their transparency and accountability needs.

Posted by jon Biel on 01/25 at 12:02 PM

This is very true in the days of WorldCom, Enron, and Madoff. That is about all you can do these days is be transparent. The less you keep from the public the more they will trust you. Thanks for another inspirational post!

Posted by Woodstock GA real estate on 01/30 at 08:05 AM

It would seem the decline of trust is yet another impact of the internet.

With the mass media, people had no option but to trust the voice of authority in the newspaper, on the radio or TV. With internet media, trust is no longer necessary as it is possible to refer to evidence. There is no significant barrier for anyone to share any information on the internet.

We only rely on trust when we there is no other option. Once transparency is possible, people demand it. And it looks decidedly dodgy if an organization is not being transparent. What have they got to hide?

Never mind transparency about financial info: people can now demand transparency about *everything.* Donors shouldn’t need to wait for a report. We want almost everything to be transparent all the time. True transparency looks like charities are working in a ‘glass workshop.’

Charity:water is an example of an organization that is getting it right.

Posted by Brad on 04/16 at 05:57 AM