How NGOs build credibility

In my last post I talked about the importance of public’s trust in an organization and why observing NGOs practices can be a helpful guide to achieve a high level of trust. As mentioned in my last post companies should work with NGOs as partners and understand better their practices to gain the trust of society. Below I am going to talk about how these practices are used by NGOs and how business organizations can apply them to their business model.

NGOs usually achieve a high degree of public trust, which is essential to any kind of business today driven to delivery on their goals. The value motive is the guide for NGOs. An NGO main goal is to help society better understand the transformations that are taking places nowadays. The purpose of an NGO isn’t to sell products; they promote what’s called “industries of conscience”. Meaning they get involved in policy and social issues in order to influence transformation in society. Their business’ purpose is always transparent and clear in relation to what they intend on achieving.

According to the annual  Trust Barometer report by Edelman in 2011 the Trust Architecture Factors changed. The report is a summary of what societies in 23 countries considers main requisites for trusting a corporation. The report among other interesting finds mapped the main attributes that make a business reliable in the eyes of society.

As we see the old trust architecture was replaced by a new model. The new model has a requisite of trust that NGOs implement well on a daily basis:  performance with purpose. Allowing its publics to be aware of its shared value is essential to bridge the gap between the organizations intent and societies perception of it. Align profit and purpose for a social benefit, also referred to as social purpose, is the new and most important feature that companies must apply in their business, followed by transparency and engagement.

 It means generate profit to further social and/or environmental goals. NGOs despite not been driven by profit, understand pretty well the importance of pursuing some sort of public interest rather than individual or commercial interests. In my next post I will discuss unenthical PR practices.