We’ve written about donor trust over the last few years, but 2026 finds us in a unique place: Trust feels more fragile, harder to earn and to keep.
People are becoming more skeptical about what they see and hear. With the explosion of technology and AI, we’re surrounded by more information—and more misinformation. Figuring out who and what to trust can be tough, which makes building trust more important than ever.
That’s what inspired a talk I’ve been giving, “Trust, Transparency and Technology: Navigating the Planned Giving Journey With Boomers.” In planned giving, donors are trusting us with something deeply personal.
So how do we reinforce trust? How do we show donors that we’ll steward their legacies well?
Do They Believe Us?
The good news is that nonprofits have a strong foundation to build on.
A 2026 study from Independent Sector and Edelman Data & Intelligence found that nonprofits remain the most trusted major institutions in America, with 56% of Americans reporting high trust in them.
But even trusted organizations have to cut through the clutter to keep earning trust. That’s especially true in planned giving, where donors won’t be around to see how their legacy gifts are spent.
What Makes an Organization Trustworthy?
Interestingly, the same study found that 60% of people who engaged with a nonprofit in the past year said the experience increased their trust.
The research also makes clear that trust comes with expectations. People want to see the connection between organizations and the communities they serve.
What does this look like in practice?
- Financial transparency and accountability
- Good stewardship
- Clear mission and measurable impact
- Open communication
- Strong governance and credibility
- Authenticity and consistency
You’re probably already striving to live out these principles by sharing results, listening to the people you serve and following through on your commitments. The harder part is turning those individual efforts into a consistent experience of trust.
Your Trust Road Map
The following road map can help you turn your daily efforts into a more consistent approach to building trust across your organization. Use it to strengthen trust in the way you communicate, operate and engage with donors, from everyday interactions to the long-term relationships that matter most.
- Lead with transparency. Make information about your finances, governance, priorities and progress easy to find and understand. Annual and quarterly reports can provide a foundation, but consider how timely updates, visuals and stories can make key information more accessible and help donors connect the numbers to your organization’s work.
- Connect donors to impact. Show donors what their support makes possible, and quantify that difference when you can. This may require shifting your mindset around metrics—from counting what your nonprofit did (e.g., 100 people visited the food bank) to measuring what they helped change (e.g., 100 families moved toward food security).
Hot tip: Use philanthropic psychology to deepen donors’ connection to your mission. - Engage community members. Trust grows when people feel heard and have a voice. Actively involve beneficiaries and donors through feedback loops, advisory groups, updates and by showing how their input influences decisions.
- Be upfront about guiding policies. This includes privacy and data policies, codes of conduct, donor rights and other commitments that point to accountability.
Hot tip: Ensure that you’re following the Donor Bill of Rights, which was created to help increase public confidence and accountability in charitable fundraising. - Highlight trust indicators. Reinforce your credibility with independent validation if possible, such as third-party ratings and rankings, special certifications, awards, community recognition or partnerships with respected organizations.
Hot tip: You can also turn to social proof. Testimonials, donor stories, community feedback and other authentic examples demonstrate first-hand how people experience and value your organization’s work. - Make trust visible through consistent stewardship. Build it through small, personal interactions—from spelling a donor’s name correctly to responding promptly when they reach out.
Show Donors They Can Count on You
In a time when trust can’t be assumed, nonprofits have an opportunity to make it a defining part of how they operate. For planned giving programs, that means creating an experience that reflects transparency, accountability and genuine connection from the first interaction. When trust becomes a sustaining feature of your relationships, you create the confidence that inspires donors to consider a lasting legacy.
Something to Think About
How are you building and maintaining trust with your donors? Sit with that thought for a while, focusing on strategies that have worked well and areas to improve.