Integrity comes in many forms, but honesty and openness are traits that are expected in most workplace situations, they are certainly traits any potential donor wants to see in a charity. Without responsible behaviour, distrust can make a working in a charity tense and even downright uncomfortable. Demonstrating a strong work ethic shows co-workers and potential donors that you’re reliable and take your responsibilities seriously. Polite communication, respectable behaviour and fiscal responsibility also help you stand out as a charity worth investing in.
We often describe ourselves as a values based organisation, we truthfully believe in our core values of openess, honesty and integrity and we look for these shared values in our own clients because we know that we can be more successful by working in this way.
How charities can build their ‘integrity capital’
A charity needs to present a united front. Not everyone will be supportive of a plan to change the status quo, but by preparing for a degree of resistance you can help to head off any negativity. The best way to do this is to say why the charity will benefit from being able to show integrity such as improved reputation and increased donations.
- Be consistent in your approach to tasks and responsibilities:
From trustee to entry level employee aim to demonstrate consistent professionalism.
- Bring to the table different skills, experiences and perspectives, and new solutions:
Make sure the skills you need to deliver your goals properly are available to you.
- Increase the organisation’s access to new knowledge, networks and connections, helping to open doors and increase the charity’s public profile:
Build networks and communicate a consistent message. Make it clear what you stand for.
- Bring unique characteristics to the organisation – for example, young people often help to inject enthusiasm and can also bring with them a better knowledge of new technology.
Your charity should always aim serve the needs of its beneficiaries as well as it possibly can.
- Improve communication channels.
No-one should be a lone ranger and decision by committee isn’t always appropriate, make sure people in your charity know how they should make decisions and share information with each other and with other stakeholder groups.
- Help to keep the organisation fresh by keeping up to date with the ‘operating environment’.
Know what’s going on it the wider world, be relevant and be able to back up your opinions with recent evidence.
