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As America Turns 250, Philanthropy Must Earn the Public’s Trust

As America celebrates its 250th birthday, declining trust has become one of the nation's defining challenges. Philanthropy can help rebuild that confidence, but only if nonprofits and funders earn public trust through accountability, transparency and measurable impact.

America is turning 250. It is a milestone worth celebrating, and also an opportunity to be honest about what has endured, what has frayed and what we are willing to repair. Trust in nearly every major American institution has eroded. Confidence in government, media, higher education, business and religious institutions has weakened across the board for years, often with good reason, but leaving communities skeptical of the organizations that claim to serve them. 

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In that vacuum, people often look to nonprofits and philanthropy for hope. They are closer to communities than government, more mission-driven than markets and more nimble than either. But if the philanthropic sector hopes to help rebuild confidence in American institutions, it has to start by acknowledging that good intentions are not enough. Nonprofits and funders have to demonstrate that their decisions are transparent, their work is effective and the people most affected by that work have a real hand in shaping it.

I have spent much of my life on both sides of philanthropy: writing the checks and chasing them. I have seen generosity change lives when it is guided........

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