Who Do You Trust?
Giving has historically been a part of our lives in the United States for a very long time. The reality of that tradition for individual donors, however, has appeared to be in decline. At the turn of the 21st century nearly two-thirds of American households donated to charity. By 2018, that proportion had diminished to less than half. The total amount donated reached historical highs during the pandemic (over $490 billon), but the number of individual donors continues to fall while the contributions of the wealthy rise. Although the decline in donor numbers has slowed, the overall trend has continued.
Nonprofits have been talking at length about this trend since the end of the pandemic.
With the increase in the number of charities competing for a share of the diminishing number of donors, we ask, “What the hell is going on?” And right behind that comes the question, “So what do we do about it?”
Are we dealing with a climate of economic uncertainty with inflation eating up more of our income? Is it a generational shift with different charitable habits replacing earlier ones. Or perhaps a combination of two things, namely, a priority shift from broader concerns to immediate needs and support for local causes, along with a growing lack of trust in larger institutions and organizations that are outside of our own experience.
Organizational Fixes for the Decline
The list of “fixes” for the problems that nonprofits can take include such positive steps as more accountability, transparency and diversification of donor base. These are all important, but let’s focus on the diminishing trust factor here.
The decline in trust has become a challenge in many sectors from government and education to known retail brands, large tech corporations and even the whole health care sector. Are we just becoming collectively and irreversibly paranoid?
We need to look at the reasons for lost trust, but beyond that we must consider ways to reverse it.
Trust is Personal
Humans learn to trust or not to trust very early on in life. Trust is put to the test in parents, siblings, teachers, toys, pets and many other points along the way, but it continues to come back to the very old quiz show question, “Who do you trust?”
It takes time to build trust but not so much for the loss of trust. A friend betrays you in the school; a parent doesn’t deliver on an important promise; or something happens of limited importance such as rude treatment by a clerk at the DMV. In each case, we pull back from the friend, question the next parental promise, and we now think the DMV is a terrible government service. The loss of trust lives at the personal level.
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Giving Tuesday CEO Asha Curran points to demographic variations in trust. Young people put less trust in traditional nonprofits. They favor causes instead of institutions. For example, while civil rights and community action organizations are among the least trusted charity types overall, these organizations were among the most trusted by Gen Z (age 18–23). The top three most trusted categories of charities by “Matures” (age 75–92) were religious organizations, health organizations, and veterans’ organizations.
Since the loss of trust is personal and starts young, then we could start there in our quest to rebuild trust on a personal path. If we don’t have a large disposable income and do not trust that our small donations to large causes will actually get something done (common characteristics of Gen Z), then we can recalibrate and focus more on our personal experience at a local level.
What would happen if large organizations not only acknowledge but actively advocate for the personal and local approach to charity? Could it be a critical first experience or even reaffirmation of the power of compassion and generosity up close and personal?
Personal Approach? Think Global, Act Local
I have lived in the same city for a while now and have a familiarity with the community. Because of my direct experience, I give my modest donations to a few local nonprofits that confront the causes that I care deeply about.
For example, I am deeply connected to the environment (and climate change) so I am a “member” of the Greenburgh Nature Center. I also believe in the critical importance of the arts in the lives of a community, especially children, so I support the Clay Art Center. In addition. I intermittently donate foodstuffs to a local food pantry and give to a local animal shelter. And when I have the means to do so, I donate to a larger organization that appears to do good work in a sector that resonates with me (health care).
But it is worth mentioning that when I previously had given to a small, local hospital near my hometown, I ceased supporting it when it was “acquired” by a large and well-funded hospital. While I am certainly not Gen Z, my choices reflect their tendencies.
Encourage and Support Local Engagement
Most local charities have a limited capacity to promote their work. They depend on word of mouth (the time-honored, best marketing tool) so what if larger organizations adjusted their approach to engagement?
1. Promote causes like the arts or health care or affordable housing and get folks information and resources of ways to connect locally with the causes they believe in.
2. Help them find local organizations that are working in that sector. If environment is the cause, point out a local nature preserve; if health care is a top priority, then find a local free clinic that offers people without insurance quality health care; or if saving abused animals tops the list, then where is the local animal shelter?
3. Connecting people with local causes/charities can mean more personal, hands- on experiences with the cause which creates the opportunity for a longer-term relationship built on trust that our efforts will matter. It can be volunteer work or simply promoting the local organization on social networks.
4. By building trust in the importance of giving of self and time (which can be more powerful than money), it also connects the individual with the whole sector and allows each person to understand the role that larger organizations and institutions play in the lives of these local charities — and thus rebuild trust in their potential as future destinations for individual philanthropy.
No matter where we invest our time and passion, we need to reaffirm our responsibility to care for each other. We are, indeed, all in this together, whatever the cause. It ain’t a competition; it is a community.
