How Nonprofits Can Build Lasting Trust with Stakeholders

Earning the trust of stakeholders is one of the most important efforts a nonprofit can undertake. Trust is the basis of charitable support. In fact, 83% of participants in an Edelman Data & Intelligence study reported feeling that they must trust a nonprofit before offering their support.

As a result of garnering more support for nonprofit causes, trust-based relationships also empower nonprofits to amplify their impact on the communities they serve. According to UpMetrics, this is the core of trust-based philanthropy, an approach in which nonprofits and their funders “build long-term, healthy, equitable relationships with each other and their broader communities.”

However, to meaningfully engage your community and deliver better outcomes, your nonprofit must be thoughtful about its trust-building strategy. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the best ways to create trust with stakeholders.

Know your stakeholders and their trust drivers.

To build trust with your stakeholders, you must first understand what they want to see from your organization. These answers will vary based on stakeholder roles; funders, donors, board members, volunteers, beneficiaries, and community partners will all seek different outcomes. 

For example, consider how you might strengthen trust with the following stakeholders:

• Funders: Provide detailed progress reports on funded initiatives. Be transparent about how you allocate funds and demonstrate measurable outcomes tied to their investments.
• Donors: Communicate the real-world impact of their contributions through stories, photos, and testimonials. Thank them promptly and personally, and keep them informed about ongoing projects they’ve supported.
• Board members: Share timely organizational updates and invite their input on key decisions. Equip them with the data, context, and talking points they need to be effective advocates for the mission.
• Volunteers: Respect their time by offering clear instructions, providing necessary resources, and recognizing their efforts publicly. Give them feedback on the difference their work is making.
• Beneficiaries: Engage them in shaping programs by soliciting feedback and involving them in decisions that affect them. Ensure your communication is clear, respectful, and responsive to their needs.
• Community partners: Foster open dialogue about shared goals, challenges, and opportunities. Follow through on commitments and look for ways to create mutually beneficial outcomes that strengthen the broader community.

To get started, create categories of stakeholders based on their priorities and influence. This will help you see your audience more clearly so you can engage stakeholders uniquely according to where they fall in the influence-interest matrix. 

Then, analyze these segments to identify trust drivers. Some stakeholders start to trust your organization when they receive frequent, personalized communications. Others prioritize professional branding or transparent impact metrics. Find out what matters most to your stakeholders through surveys, interviews, and data analysis, and use these results to inform your trust-building strategy.

Acknowledging the diversity of your stakeholders is an important part of building trust. By appealing to their interests, you can show stakeholders that you value their specific contributions and perspectives.

Be transparent from the start.

Trust is a two-way street. Just as your nonprofit needs to know its stakeholders to appeal to their trust drivers, it’s important for stakeholders to get to know your organization. Stakeholders can’t fully trust your nonprofit if they don’t know anything about it, and it shouldn’t be hard for them to find the information they’re looking for.

Establish credibility early by:

• Building transparency into the onboarding process. Give internal stakeholders a good first impression of your organization as soon as they join. This includes clearly outlining a specific and actionable mission statement, explaining how your organization makes decisions, letting them know how often they can expect communications, and inviting two-way engagement through feedback surveys or direct contact points.

• Creating consistent publishing policies. External stakeholders should be regularly updated on your nonprofit’s financials, celebrations, and even setbacks. Keeping stakeholders informed with financial statements and impact metrics demonstrates accountability. It’s a good idea to create internal policies so that these communications are consistent and timed to increase engagement.
• Ensuring you’re following communication best practices. You may not realize how much small details like language or branding enforce or diminish trust. Avoid jargon, maintain visual consistency, and always endeavor to keep your promises—whether that’s delivering a report on time or calling a supporter back when you said you would. These small actions incrementally build trust in impactful ways.

By taking these steps, you show accountability and dedication to building trust, assuring stakeholders that you’ll prove your commitment consistently.

Use impact metrics.

Your impact is the tangible difference you make according to your mission, vision, and goals. Measuring your impact and sharing compelling metrics will show stakeholders that their confidence in your organization’s abilities is justified.  

Take these steps to perfect your impact measurement and reporting process:

• Create an impact framework. An impact framework is like a map that your organization uses to guide its impact measurement. First, determine your dimensions of impact as they relate to your larger mission and vision—answering questions about who you’re serving, what you are providing to those you serve, and how those you serve benefit. Then, outline your objectives for what you want to achieve with your impact measurement. Lastly, decide on your key impact indicators (KIIs), the measurable values that help you monitor your progress.

• Consider the data you need to demonstrate progress. It’s important to use both quantitative and qualitative data as you monitor your impact. Quantitative data has a numeric value, while qualitative is more descriptive or narrative, pulling from sources like testimonials or survey responses. Decide which type of data will be best for showing each facet of your impact, but use both in your reporting.

• Collect and analyze your data. Use existing and new data, along with publicly available supplementary data. Quantitative data requires statistical analysis, while qualitative data requires thematic analysis.

Measuring your impact effectively and sharing those findings makes stakeholders feel more invested in your mission and shows them that their support matters, making this one of the most powerful methods of building trust.

Engage stakeholders in meaningful ways.

Your stakeholders have the capacity to contribute to your organization in dynamic ways. Beyond simply accepting monetary support, your nonprofit should take advantage of stakeholders’ passion and skills by:

• Offering new opportunities for involvement. Demonstrating that you know and appreciate a stakeholder’s history with your organization and that you want to engage them further is a great way to build connections. For example, donors might also take an interest in volunteering, and they’ll likely appreciate the fact that you value them beyond their potential for revenue.
• Suggesting skill-aligned volunteer opportunities. Prioritizing your volunteers’ experience allows for a more meaningful connection with your organization’s mission. As volunteers seek further engagement with your organization, they’ll get to know your team and your work better.
• Starting a dialogue. When you show stakeholders that you trust and value them, they’re more likely to feel the same way about you. Invite funders to feedback sessions and create community advisory boards to create two-way communication.

When your stakeholders have meaningful experiences with your organization, they’re far more likely to trust your nonprofit in the future. Creating these experiences requires a deep knowledge of your supporters and a willingness to prioritize stakeholder experience over your own.

Sustain trust through consistency and follow-through.

Building trust isn’t a one-time project. You have to constantly reassess your approach to your relationships with stakeholders and look for ways to meet and exceed their expectations. To maintain stakeholders’ confidence in your leadership and your organization, remember these tips:

• Deliver on your commitments. Every promise, big or small, is a test of your reliability. When circumstances change, communicate early and explain why. Consistently following through shows that people can count on you even when the unexpected happens.
• Keep communication steady and transparent. Regular updates teach supporters to trust your organization. Share progress, setbacks, and next steps so stakeholders never have to wonder where things stand. This openness helps prevent misunderstandings and reinforces credibility.
• Adapt to changing needs and expectations. Stakeholder priorities aren’t static, so be prepared to check in regularly. Use their feedback to refine your approach and look for opportunities to exceed expectations.

Incorporating reliability, transparency, and adaptability into your daily routine helps build enduring trust, enabling you to create relationships that will stand the test of time.

Building trust with your stakeholders requires an ongoing commitment that shapes every interaction your nonprofit has. The most successful organizations understand that trust compounds over time, leading to more meaningful interactions with your organization and deeper connections that help advance your mission.

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