Opening Up: Demystifying Funder Transparency

This toolkit explores how transparency can strengthen credibility, improve grantee relationships, facilitate greater collaboration, increase public trust, reduce duplication of effort, and build communities of shared learning. The content is organized into five topical chapters so that users can focus on exploring one approach to transparency at a time.What's in the Guide?Introduction: What is transparency, and why is it important?Behind Closed Doors: Sharing Grantee Selection Processes and Grantee Data: Opening up about selection processes is an important first step towards transparency.Is the Needle Moving? Sharing Performance Assessments: Learn about how sharing assessments promotes trusts, increases credibility, and helps to improve learning.Improving Relationships: Strengthening Engagement with Grantees and Other Nonprofits: Transparency is a tool to improve relationships, which can strengthen the overall impact of funders' work and the nonprofits they support.Peers Helping Peers: Improving the Practice of Philanthropy: When foundation staff are transparent in sharing their goals, lessons learned, and challenges with colleagues, they increase philanthropy's overall impact.Window of Technology: Communicating Using Every Opportunity: Examples of how various communications outlets and strategies can further a funder's transparency efforts.Conclusion: We tie together themes throughout the guide and give you steps for moving forward