Trust is falling in the United States. Since the 1970s, survey responses from the Gallup Poll, NORC’s General Social Survey (GSS), and the Harris Poll have recorded falling trust in both political institutions such as congress and the presidency, and nonpolitical institutions such as medicine and the press. The American nonprofit sector is not immune. An Independent Sector report revealed an 11 percent downfall in the public’s trust in the nonprofit sector.

This issue is somewhat unique to the U.S. nonprofit sector. A study assessing 31 countries actually identified a “small increase in global trust in the nonprofit sector,” from 2011 to 2019.

The stakes are high for U.S. nonprofits. Moral disillusionment theory asserts that nonprofit organizations are held to higher standards than for-profit organizations due to reputations of integrity. Thus, transgressions committed by nonprofits hold more weight. When organizations lose trust, they struggle to maximize impact. For example, the nonprofit starvation cycle, an epidemic of lackluster administrative spending within nonprofits limiting their ability to scale, is rooted in shaky donor trust.

A grim trust landscape in the U.S. begs the question: What can nonprofit professionals do to protect their organizations?

Trustworthy language

The “Four Ps of Credible Communication,” highlighted in “The Language of Trust: Selling Ideas in a World of Skeptics,” provide guidelines for trustworthy communication with donors, clients and the public.

The first “P” is personability, an attribute which CEO Dre Thompson and the Tucson Industrial Development Authority excel in.

The Tucson IDA’s program, AVANZA, aims to provide small business loans to entrepreneur populations neglected by traditional banks and lenders. Many of the entrepreneurs served by AVANZA face rejection and disappointment through interactions with financial institutions, and Thompson looks to rebuild trust through personability. For example, despite the Tucson IDA being a quasi-governmental organization, staff have avoided the often bureaucratic and intimidating reputation of government institutions through lively, vibrant branding, such as populating the building with murals.

“We wanted it to feel more like a nonprofit even though there was a municipal element,” she said.

The organization creates a welcoming, personable atmosphere through nonverbal cues. Another example includes providing documentation in Spanish for clients for Latino clients, which many financial institutions do not prepare.

The second “P” is to be “plainspoken,” avoiding organizational jargon when interacting with consumers.

Thompson provided the following advice on jargon: “The tougher the conversation, the more important it is to not use those terms.”

The third “P” is “positivity.” For example, imagine trying to influence the public to take action on a social issue. Fear mongering may paralyze audiences, promoting inaction. Beliefs of efficacy and the practical ability to make a difference, however, can create greater trust in your messaging and inclination to take action.

Lastly, “plausibility” is truthfulness and neutrality. Nonprofit professionals must be honest about what their products and services lack and do not lack. If there is a “catch,” it is better to be straightforward about it.

Competence and integrity

Competence and integrity are weighted differently in the eyes of the public. In “How Trust Works: The Science of How Relationships are Built, Broken, and Repaired,” Peter H. Kim describes the subconscious beliefs humans hold about competence and integrity. One act of incompetence does not make somebody an incompetent person, because we assume that everybody makes mistakes. However, just one act of integrity can create a reputation of immorality, as we assume that people with integrity would never sacrifice ethics under any circumstance.

A sincere apology may restore trust after a competence-based violation, but it is significantly more difficult to bounce back from an integrity-based transgression.

For nonprofits to maintain trust, they must never sacrifice integrity for a reputation of competence. For example, if a program does not meet its quotas, misreporting the numbers to promote a reputation of competence will only make things worse.

Additionally, nonprofit leaders can apply the acronym “WIT” to create a culture of integrity within their organizations.

Who then What: This is a concept from Jim Collins’ “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't.” Collins writes, “

Internal Controls: Financial controls, such as ensuring multiple levels of approval for transactions, create barriers to fraud and embezzlement.

Transparency: A culture of public transparency encourages staff to avoid activities they would not do in the public eye. Transparency is a key tenet of building donor trust. High levels of nonprofit transparency are related to greater future contributions.

Quinn McVeigh is a 2024 graduate of the Masters of Nonprofit Leadership and Management program at Arizona State University. Based in Tucson, he works as a refugee employment specialist for the Jewish Family and Children’s Services of Southern Arizona. In his free time, Quinn enjoys hiking, basketball, and hanging out with his dog, Buffalo. 

Image by Lillian Finley

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