Trust as Our Most Important Metric

The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer report was released recently. It’s a report that measures trust in institutions globally, and no surprise, it’s not looking great. Not only is trust declining, but insularity is increasing as people increasingly only trust people and institutions like them. Our realities are not shared, and we are retreating into smaller circles of trust. You don’t need to read this report to understand this happening; you just need to read the news.

The report, however, offers an interesting solution: the idea of “trust brokering”. The idea is simple. Rather than trying to change people, you surface common interests and needs and translate those needs, goals, and realities for one another.

As consultants, we often mention the importance of trust. Real trust is earned through lived experience, by demonstrating professional and organizational competence, follow-through, robust stewardship, and many other factors. As a fundraiser or nonprofit leader, your donors trust you only when they’ve engaged with you over a period of time. And without trust, our mission, vision, and programs don’t mean much because something fundamental is missing.

Listening to our donors has always been an important part of fundraising, but the Edelman report implies it’s more important than ever because it suggests we are not interpreting goals and impactful through the same lens.

As trust narrows to smaller circles, we can’t assume mission and vision alone will create support. We must earn trust intentionally and consistently.

I had a conversation with an organization recently that is working on a project that is building a large multi-use space for immigrants and refugees in their city. For the organization, the project is about self-determination, long-term self-sufficiency, and justice. But a potential major donor states they “don’t care about refugees.” But they do care about more housing for their community. So, we have an organization and a donor with different values and a different world view. One would imagine there is not a lot of natural trust in this situation.

But we are very optimistic that the organization will close this major gift. Why? Because they have external validators working on their behalf, trusted by both parties, who would like to see this project happen. They have detailed plans. A fundraising plan, a strategic plan, a financial plan. And both parties understand where the other one is coming from because they talk. They ask questions. They seek understanding.

Likewise, we perform a lot of assessments of organizations as part of work. When we talk with board members, it’s shocking how often they express a lack of trust in the organizations they serve. I’m not saying they believe the organization is made up of bad or untrustworthy people. Rather, they don’t trust them in the sense of not being clear what the plan is, if they make introductions to potential donors those introductions will be followed up on, or even that the organization will achieve its goals.

This lack of trust depresses what those board members will do on behalf of the organization. A lack of trust amplified across the entire board and donor base is an organization that is going to underperform when it comes to fundraising.

Trust is what makes all of our fundraising possible. So what can we do to increase trust with our donors?

Build trust internally first - Donors often sense misalignment before we do. When leadership, board members, programs, communications, and fundraising are telling different versions of the story, trust suffers.

• Ask questions and listen – Yes, part of our job is to persuade, but we do this best when we understand the values, philanthropic vision, and priorities of our donors

Demonstrate competence – Have clear plans with metrics for achieving your goals, but also share those plans with your donors. Let them know you’ve thought this through. And have a development plan! This matters.

Provide robust and impact-focused stewardship – In our opinion, you can’t do too much stewardship and you're probably not doing nearly enough.

• Measure trust – Conduct an annual donor satisfaction survey that includes questions about trust. Set a baseline in your first year and then try to improve on it.

• Have validators – Who is already trusted in your community? Can they help you bring on board people who might not otherwise look in your direction?

We spend enormous amounts of time measuring dollars raised, event attendance, and revenue growth. All of these metrics matter. But trust may be the metric that drives every other one. Building trust leads to more money raised, stronger relationships, more effective boards and volunteers, and greater impact.