How does your organization build its credibility?

What’s your story?

It is often remarked that when building an organization’s credibility that Content is King.  This is partly true, but nestled within this maxim is the insight that an organization that is truly compelling is one that has a good narrative and operates on good principles.  Most people understand that nonprofits are dedicated to a good cause, but there are a lot of nonprofits and a lot of important causes.  What differentiates each of these organizations is their particular story and the principles and values that animate them.  What components comprise a good story?

• Mission Statement - this describes the organization and what you do. More importantly, this is where the public can see your organization’s founding and operating principles.
• The Founders - who started your organization and what was their story? How were they driven to address the problem your organization is dedicated to?
• Employee Bios - people are more inclined to trust people they can see and know more about. This especially holds true to the backbone of your organization—your employees.
• The Board of Directors - the qualifications of your board members are vital. Funders who recognize the expertise and leadership of a strong board of directors are more inclined to donate.

Each of these aspects help to convey to people interested in your cause the narrative and the purpose of your organization and can help to differentiate you from potential competitors.

Efficiency and efficacy report

The next step towards building organizational credibility is to present the organization as both efficient and effective in its mission.  Volunteers and funders both want to know that their time and money is being well spent.  Research has shown that in order to be credible, a non-profit needs to establish competency (Aaker et al., 2010).  In the nonprofit world we can track efficiency by looking at many different indicators, one being the operating expenses ratio.  If operating expenses are a small proportion of overall expenses we can say a nonprofit is operating efficiently.  But for nonprofit startups maintaining efficiency is often difficult to do given a small resource base.  In addition, this doesn’t measure an organization’s impact in terms of how effective their programs may be.  Here are a list of metrics that track both efficiency and efficacy and can help a nonprofit develop its credibility.

Efficiency

• Program and Services Ratio - this is a ratio of the total expenses for programs and services over total organizational expenses in a fiscal year.
• Operating Expenses Ratio - this is a ratio of the total expenses for operations over the total organizational expenses in a fiscal year.
• Fundraising Ratio - this is a ratio of the total expenses for fundraising and development over the total organizational expenses in a fiscal year.
• Accreditation Groups - as you may already be aware, there are specific groups whose job it is to make sure that nonprofits are on-the-level. Charity Navigator, Charity Watch, and the Better Business Bureau all rate nonprofit organizations according to a standard set of criteria.  Be aware of these metrics and set goals for your organization to try to meet these criteria.  Good ratings from these groups are an added layer of credibility.

Efficacy

• Outputs - what services and programs has your organization created? How many volunteers have donated their time to your cause?  How much money have you been able to raise?  These aspects all add credibility to your organizational resume.
• Outcomes - What results have you achieved? What transformation have you seen?  These speak to the change you have actually accomplished, which is your sweet spot for donors and reporting.
• Testimonials - anecdotal stories from persons who have benefited from your organization, individuals who have volunteered for you, employees who have worked for you, or vendors or affiliates who have worked with you – all provide a narrative tapestry that builds your reputation as a serious and impactful nonprofit organization.

Even if you are a startup nonprofit with a high operating expense ratio, you can use these criteria as a way to set goals for fundraising and development so you can expand your resource base and reduce your operating expense ratio.  In addition, you can differentiate yourself from competitors by highlighting the impact of your programs and services to stakeholders.  Lastly, being able to make sense of your impact can help you to develop a sense of identity as an organization devoted to the public good (Grimes, 2010).

Your website is key

Any organization, whether a for-profit or nonprofit, should treat its website as a key employee.  Your website is often the initial point of contact for many potential volunteers or funders.  Research has also identified an organization’s website as an extension of its credibility (Long & Chiagouris, 2006).  Because of this, it needs to elegantly and succintly convey who you are, what you do, and how people can help.

• Professional Appearance & Design - to put it bluntly, the appearance of your website matters. Appealing visuals, flashy design, and a user-friendly interface will help instill viewers with confidence in your organization.
• Integrate Your Story into the Website - find a way to seamlessly integrate the development of your organizational narrative discussed above into the website. Summarize this on the homepage but leave a tab to expound on it.
• Integrate Your Efficiency and Efficacy Report into the Website - find a way to integrate the efficiency and efficacy report into the website. Summarize this on the homepage (not far from the organizational narrative summary.  Leave a tab to expound on this as well.
• Donation Portal - on the homepage provide either a donation portal or a donation submission form.
• Volunteering Opportunities - on the homepage, allow visitors easy access to volunteering opportunities with straight forward instructions for applying and contact information for inquiries.
• Post Cutting-Edge Research in your Program Area - providing reports and peer-reviewed literature for viewers helps to solidify the importance of your nonprofit’s mission but also your expertise in the field.
• Up to date Content via News, Announcements, or Blog Posts - websites with static content don’t get much repeat traffic but adding news, announcements, or blog posts can keep bringing viewers back. In addition, blog posts that discuss knowledge of your program area and expertise in your field instantly conveys credibility to visitors interested in your cause.

The organization’s website is a vital component of relating the organization’s values, narrative, and expertise to the general public.  The take-away: make sure it conveys the right feel and the proper content so that you resonate as a credible organization.

Cultivating relationships

Content alone will not bring people to your website.  Connectivity plays a much more vital part in building a nonprofit organization’s credibility.  Case studies have shown the importance of building relationships (Arnett et al., 2003), and building relationships involve these key factors.

• Active Board of Directors - board of directors who actively network with business, non-profits, and the community are essential components for engaging the public and spreading the word about your organization.
• Stakeholder Engagement - working with beneficiaries, employees, volunteers, affiliate nonprofits, vendors, associations, community members, and government representatives to voice their support and give testimonials is paramount.
• Hosting Workshops or Community Events - hosting workshops, speaking engagements, or sponsoring community events are an excellent vehicle for establishing a presence in the local community.
• Social Media - utilizing Facebook or Twitter to connect to people is quickly becoming a cost-effective way of establishing a presence among a digital community with much more breadth and depth than traditional media sources.
• Being Honest and Purposeful - just be honest about your organization. Highlight all of its accomplishments and acknowledge its weaknesses and areas of opportunity.  This honesty will win people over.  Always remember to stay committed to the organization’s purpose and those it is devoted to helping.

Building relationships is the first step toward solidifying trust with potential donors and volunteers.

What do we do now?

The next step is taking action.  We’ve provided an action item list that will move your organization in the right direction.

1. If you haven’t established a mission statement or an understanding of your organizational culture or its values – you should do so. Discuss this with your Board of Directors or an advisory committee.  The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (2014) is an excellent resource for getting started.
2. Find the time to develop your story – your organizational narrative, and fill that story with personal anecdotes, the lives of the people who are responsible for doing the good work, and the trials and tribulations that it took to get where you are today. Don’t write fiction.  If people discover or even suspect that you’ve been exaggerating the truth it can instantly destroy your credibility (Chan & Takagi, 2011).
3. Look at the charity watchdogs to see how they measure credibility. Start measuring these very important aspects of good organization and set goals towards hitting important milestones.
4. Start working on building a visually appealing and well-designed website that can convey your story, your organizational efficiency and efficacy, and your need of donor and community support.
5. From a managerial perspective, start looking for individuals who can help support you in all of the areas discussed. If no one has specialized skills in these areas, challenge your interns and employees to learn and become experts of their own.
6. Put together a marketing plan that involves shaking hands, meeting new people, new organizations, and engaging your community and your stakeholders.
7. If you haven’t already done so, begin to formulate plans to incorporate program evaluations into your organization. Use your data to help tell your story.

Building trust is an essential aspect of growing your organization.  There are foundational aspects of building trust that arise from inspirational stories and relationships with stakeholders.  There are practical aspects of building trust built on exhibiting competence and having a substantive impact.  A strong nonprofit organization will thrive on both.

Sources

Aaker, Jennifer, Kathleen D. Vohs, Cassie Mogilner (2010) Nonprofits Are Seen as Warm and For-Profits are Competent: Firm Stereotypes Matter. Journal of Consumer Research. 37(2): 224-237.

Arnett, Dennis B., Steve D. German, Shelby D. Hunt (2003) The Identity Salience Model of Relationship Marketing Success: The Case of the Nonprofit Marketing. The Journal of Marketing. 67(2): 89-105.

Chan, Emily and Gene Takagi (2011) Three Cups of Tea Scandal Offers Lessons for Charities and Trustees. The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Retrieved from https://philanthropy.com/article/Three-Cups-of-Tea-Scandal/158531

Grimes, Matt (2010) Strategic Sensemaking Within Funding Relationships: The Effects of Performance Measurement on Organizational Identity in the Social Sector. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice. 34(4): 763-783.

Long, Mary M. and Larry Chiagouris (2006) The role of credibility in shaping attitudes toward nonprofit websites. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing. 11: 239-249.

The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (2014) Toward a Nonprofit Theory of Leadership and Organizational Culture. NonProfit Quarterly. https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2014/07/28/nonprofit-leadership-theory-and-organizational-culture