Public trust is the currency of the nonprofit sector.

Without the public’s trust, everything nonprofits and philanthropies do to advance their missions becomes harder, if not impossible.

For the seventh year, Independent Sector partnered with Edelman Data & Intelligence to examine how the American public views nonprofit and philanthropic organizations. The 2026 study includes a nationally representative survey of 3,000 U.S. adults and politically representative online focus groups.

This year’s findings show that nonprofits remain a rare point of common ground. Americans continue to trust nonprofit organizations more than government institutions, corporations, the media, and philanthropy — and increasingly see nonprofits as institutions that can bring people together and improve their communities.

The research also identifies a clear responsibility that accompanies this trust. Americans want nonprofits to be transparent about their funding and operations, accountable to the communities they serve, open to direct participation, and cautious and forthcoming when using artificial intelligence.