On the second panel at ASE, leaders from Ashoka and Guidestar are talking about a variety of issues. One of the issues that has come up is that people increasingly desire nonprofits to have more transparency. Groups like Guidestar and Charity Navigator are going out of their way to collect a variety of data to improve people’s confidence about the giving process.

This is certainly true, but I think it’s worth thinking about this in the context of another thing that’s happening. People are being overwhelmed with giving opportunities. There are simply more seemingly good organizations out there than we can support. As has happened in response to the glut of products available for any consumer need, people are throwing their hands up, turning to their friend next to them and saying, “Hey, what would you do?”

Our friends and family are our most important filters, and I believe this will increase, not decrease. This does not mean that transparency and nonprofit data is unimportant, but it makes me skeptical of that data’s ability to be the thing that makes someone pull out there wallet. It seems more likely to be a negative screen, in that organizations that don’t have that transparency and that don’t have good data about their impact will be more likely to be weeded out.

What would it mean for nonprofits if that was the case? It would mean that just as much as they focus on data, they will need to focus on giving stakeholders a variety of opportunities to engage - or feel engaged. The experience of giving can’t be transactional, it has to be relational. It has to inspire joy, and it likely has to have the ability to integrate with other social behavior.

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