To Whom Are Nonprofits Accountable?

Being accountable as a nonprofit is a loaded statement. Nonprofits are expected to be accountable to many people: their funders and patrons, their clients, and themselves. As Alnoor Ebrahim discusses in his working paper, there is ‘upwards’ accountability and ‘downward’ accountability. However, I think most importantly is that nonprofits be accountable to themselves. Nonprofits must check up on themselves and ensure that they are acting in accordance to its mission and staff. Nonprofits must police themselves and make sure other people aren’t suspecting misbehavior. They must set high standards they need to follow.

Nonprofits have to be accountable for finances, for governance, for their performance and their mission. Nonprofits are accountable for finances through audits and also through transparency. They are accountable for governance through their board of directors who make sure the fiduciary responsibilities are covered. They are responsible for performance which relies on evaluation and ensuring their goals are measurable and effective. They are accountable to their mission – they are providing a public good and all actions the nonprofit does needs to be connected back to their mission. The accountability is done through reports and disclosure statements, evaluations and assessment, industry self-regulation, participation and adaptive learning.