One of a nonprofit board's tasks in strategic planning is to review and/or adopt a set of values. Values are core guiding principles that inform the decisionmaking and operational behavior of a nonprofit's board members, managers and staff.
Over the past few years, transparency has frequently been examined and often adopted as a core value. I believe that transparency has risen in status for a number of reasons including donor-voiced desires; staff disgruntlements; and the efforts of middle-to-senior managers who believe that transparency facilitates more effective management.
One media story in particluar stimulated my thinking about transparency. One Wall Street Journal story about the New York State Attorney General's request to some 75 nonprofits that they report-in on monies raised in response to Hurricane Sandy so that the AG can ensure the funds raised were spent as intended. I believe that nonprofits that truly hold transparency as a value would not need to be asked by a State Attorney General to report-in on the disposition of their donations. These nonprofits would have in place the processes that would clearly and timely distribute information about the status of donations, be they for relief work, other special purpose or general program.