Trust in Nonprofits Higher Than in Government and News Media Alex Daniels - Philanthropy.com
go to original June 2, 2022

Americans’ trust in nonprofits and philanthropy remains higher than in many other institutions, including federal and state government, corporations, and the news media, but that confidence has slipped in the years since COVID became a global calamity, according to a new report.

Since 2020, trust in nonprofits has declined from 59 percent to 56 percent, according to a February online survey of 3,015 people conducted by Independent Sector and Edelman Data & Intelligence. Trust in philanthropy, including private and corporate foundations and wealthy donors, dropped 2 percentage points — a decline deemed statistically insignificant — during the same period.

Without trust, nonprofits lack a key “currency” that allows them to operate smoothly, said Jeffrey Moore, chief strategy officer at Independent Sector. High levels of trust allow nonprofits to raise more money, successfully combine efforts with government agencies, and build strong working relationships with people in towns and cities where they serve.

The slight decline in trust in nonprofits mirrors declines over recent years in institutions across the board, Moore said. But he cautioned that nonprofit leaders should not dismiss the changing attitudes reflected in the survey.

The decline in trust is not “a four-alarm fire” for nonprofits, Moore said. “But any time that we see trust on a downward slope, we have cause to be asking ourselves really hard questions.”

Women and members of Generation Z, the oldest of whom are in their late 20s, both said they had lower levels of trust, on average, than other people polled, with only half of Gen Z respondents and 52 percent of women saying they had a high level of trust in nonprofits compared with the 56 percent of all survey respondents who said the same.

The survey also found:

  • 64 percent of people who characterized their financial well-being as excellent or good said they had a high level of trust in nonprofits, compared with 47 percent who said they were in fair or poor financial shape.

  • Philanthropy had higher levels of trust among people with college degrees (48 percent), people with annual incomes greater than $75,000 (45 percent), and registered Democrats (44 percent).

  • People who were familiar with the work of nonprofits and philanthropies were more likely to trust them. Two-thirds of people familiar with nonprofits held a high trust level, and more than half of those familiar with philanthropy trusted philanthropic institutions and donors.

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