How Nonprofits Can Win Back The Public’s Trust After Repeated Scandals

The time to be brave is now.

The public is growing skeptical of organizations that claim to do good.

Whether it’s Jeffrey Epstein’s correspondence with the Gates Foundation, Elon Musk’s charitable foundation amassing $14 billion in assets despite giving away very little, or nonprofits backing down from their stated goals following the Trump administration’s threats to pull federal funding, trust in the philanthropic sector is waning, according to a recent report on reputational risk from the Global Situation Room, a PR firm based in Washington, DC.

Overall, 52% of the Global Situation Room’s Global Risk Advisory Council — a panel composed of more than 140 crisis experts, business leaders and former diplomats — agreed charitable organizations made too many concessions in response to increased political pressure last year.

“What the report is showing is that philanthropy had a moment and may not have leaned into the moment as much as they should have,” said Aba Blankson, a council member, as well as chief marketing and communications officer for the NAACP.

A similar percentage of council members (44%) said corporate philanthropies have significantly damaged their reputations by eliminating DEI-related programs.

One result of this, the report concludes, is a growing perception among everyday people that “large-scale philanthropy is less about altruism and more about reputation laundering, buying visibility and asserting privilege.”

If the decline in trust goes unchecked, said Vijay Viswanathan, professor and associate dean of integrated marketing communications at Northwestern University, the virtuous cycle of donating, giving and helping those in need can turn vicious, leaving organizations scrambling to attract money, employees and attention.

“It’s a kind of reputational cascade,” said Viswanathan, “where even people who benefit don’t want to be associated with you.”

Here are three ways nonprofits can begin to rebuild confidence.

1. Explain what’s happening

The period of charitable organizations getting a pass for purporting to do good is essentially over, said Blankson. Now, she added, “everybody is under a microscope.”

The problem for nonprofits: Nearly 9 in 10 members of the Global Risk Advisory Council believe organizations in the philanthropy space don’t do an adequate job of communicating their work.

When dealing with large amounts of money spent on reshaping different aspects of society, visibility into where funds are coming from and where they’re going can only improve accountability.

“They need to be much more transparent and come clean,” said Viswanathan, who noted an external assessment or third-party certification, such as from GiveWell or Charity Navigator, could also help boost credibility.

1. Focus on the long term

Governments change. Technology advances. Prevailing ideas come and go.

“If you’re investing in certain causes, you know there are going to be shocks,” said Viswanathan. “You have to play the long game and figure out how you’re going to be resilient to all these shocks.”

Blankson added that charities should consistently have cross-functional conversations to plan for multiple scenarios. Even if many go unused, the exercise alone will “build a muscle for later,” she said.

1. Be brave

To lead in this moment, some organizations will have to go out on a limb. And they’ll have to do it alone.

“This is an opportunity for courage, and for organizations to speak to who they are, why they exist and why they’re making this decision versus that decision,” said Blankson. “But if you’re waffling, if your actions are not matching your words, then that’s where you get into trust erosion, which compounds over time.”

As Viswanathan put it: “The moment you’re unable to defend your position and stand up for what you believe, the public sees it as maybe you’re doing something wrong—or never really believed in the cause.”

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