Confidence in nonprofits

Paul Light and NYU Wagner have released the latest installment of their ongoing research into consumer confidence in charitable organizations

Results were somewhat paradoxical: while those that expressed, in general, a great deal or fair amount of confidence in nonprofits increased since 2002, many of the detailed indicators of confidence remained essentially unchanged:

• 18 percent of Americans said charitable organizations do a very good job running their programs and services, compared with 19 percent in 2005
• 71 percent of Americans said that charitable organizations waste a great deal or fair amount of money, up from 66 percent in 2005 and 60 percent in October 2003 when the question was first asked.
• 73 percent said charities have the right priorities, but do not spend money wisely.

(there’s a lot more – the report is certainly worth a full read).

The report concludes:

Further investments in the ability of charitable organizations to deliver programs and services may be the most important approach to sustaining and increasing the recent gains in confidence…These investments in performance, while hard to generate, not only improve performance, they help charitable organizations make a stronger case that they are, indeed, helping people and delivering programs and services effectively. Charitable organizations do not need to do a better job showing the faces of the people they help—Americans already believe they have the right priorities. Rather, charities need to do a better job showing that they actually achieve their missions and produce measurable results. Such proof of success is virtually impossible to generate without the administrative backbone needed for increased transparency and accountability.

Bravo! I’m thrilled to read a report on confidence that doesn’t focus primarily on transparency. I couldn’t agree more: if many people feel that nonprofits don’t spend money wisely, that’s not just a PR issue. We need to think carefully about whether nonprofits *are actually* spending money wisely, and if not what we can do as a sector to help.

More effective software, anyone?