Nonprofit Transparency

I. Introduction
The Importance
of Nonprofit Transparency
The Leading Business Publication For Nonprofit Management
JULY 14, 2014
BRUCE BURTCH
The times, they seem to be a-changing for corporate social responsibility campaigns.
According to the 2013 Cone Communications/Echo Global CSR Study, a whopping 87
percent of the more than 10,000 respondents said that they make purchases based on
what they know about an organization’s social, environmental and cause-related
engagement.
The remaining 13 were predominantly older than 55. The
Old Guard is fading out, and the New Guard wants to
know what your organization is doing. They’re even
willing to say “it’s okay if a company is not
perfect, as long as it is honest about its efforts.”
It’s interesting to see that most of these
consumers don’t believe that they’re getting as
much truth and transparency as they should be
from corporations. In fact, Cone reports that 91
percent of Americans believe organizations
should tell them how they are supporting
causes, but many do not think they are getting
sufficient information.
Only 58 percent of Americans believe companies are
providing enough details about their cause efforts.
Along with the rapid growth and success of cross-sector partnerships, there is an
increasingly savvy and information-hungry public. It means that a mere lack of
transparency can now cause suspicion or even damage to an organization’s image.
The public wants to engage in causes they care about. Companies do, too, albeit for
slightly different reasons. Neither wants to be involved in a campaign that has
something to hide.
That’s why the transparency of your cross-sector partnership is crucial.
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