Glasspockets Find: Transparency, Public Pressure and Nonprofit Governance April 12, 2012

Lucy Bernholz has just posted an excellent, thought-provoking piece on her Philanthropy 2173 blog.  She refers to two recent examples of public pressure—with the Komen Foundation and the Gates Foundation as the separate focal points—that led to a change of direction.  She argues that the increasing ease with which public opinion may be expressed quickly demands that all types of nonprofit organizations, including foundations, be prepared to respond.

As more information becomes more accessible to more people, organizations should expect to engage in a civil conversation—with supporters and critics.  The old-school broadcast model is fading fast.  Transparency is a tool that foundations can embrace to anticipate and react to the public response to their decisions, and in the process build trust.

-- Mark Foley