Foundation Transparency: What Nonprofits Want

Transparency has become an increasingly debated topic among foundation leaders and foundation-watchers. Some, such as the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, argue that foundations have an ethical obligation to be transparent. Brad Smith, president of the Foundation Center, says that transparency is the best means to protect the freedom foundations enjoy. Lucy Bernholz, visiting scholar at Stanford University's Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, argues that foundations should openly share information and data to more effectively pursue their shared goals. Others, like John Tyler and the Philanthropy Roundtable, maintain that foundations should continue to be as private as they like