Trust is the lifeblood of an NGO — trust by the public, trust by the media, trust by the government, trust by corporations, trust by donors, trust by other NGOs, and trust by its employees and those who volunteer their time. To develop and maintain trust, each NGO must exhibit genuine public accountability and transparency, and should be honest in the information that it makes available to the public.

A. Public information on the NGO

1. Accuracy and timeliness. Information provided about the organization to donors, members, clients, staff, and the general public should be accurate and timely.

2. Annual report. At least annually, an NGO should prepare and make available to the public information on its programs and services, and provide public access to appropriate records of those programs and services.

3. Financial information. An NGO annually should prepare and make available to the public basic financial information on the organization, including the source of its funding, the use of those funds, the percentage of the funds used for service and programs, administration activities, and fundraising, and any compensation provided to the governing body. The NGO
should also provide public access to appropriate financial records.

4. Listing of governing body and officers. An NGO should make available the names of its governing body and management staff, publicize any changes in its governing board, and provide access to appropriate minutes of meetings of its governing board.

5 . Partnerships. An NGO should make available, in a timely and accurate manner, information on any partnerships or other joint ventures into which it has entered.

6. Confidentiality. An NGO should maintain the confidentiality of personal information on staff, clients and others, unless the individuals waive this right, or disclosure is required by law.

7. Comparison. An NGO should describe itself in terms of its own merits, not in depreciation of other NGOs. Communications regarding another NGO should not be made with the purpose of creating a self benefit at the expense of the other.

8 . Communications channel. An NGO should provide a communication channel for the public should they wish to make inquiries regarding the NGO and its activities.

9 . Disclosure. An NGO should assign at least one person to assure that the organization
is complying with national and local laws regarding disclosure of information to the public.

B. Public advocacy

1. Accuracy and in context. Information that an NGO chooses to disseminate to the media, policy makers or the public should be accurate and presented with proper context.Forward-looking projections should clearly be presented as such, and not as fact. This includes information presented by the NGO with respect to any legislation, policy, individual, organization, or project it opposes, supports, or is discussing.

2. Verbal and written statements. An NGO should have clear guidelines and approval processes for the issuing of verbal and written statements.

3 . Disclosure of bias. An NGO should present information in a fair and unbiased manner.
Where a possible bias is unavoidable or inherent, it should be disclosed.

4. Authority for statements. An NGO’s statements should reflect its actual authority.A
membership NGO may be able to represent its membership, if such a role is provided in its organizing document and the views of the membership are determined by proper means. A public benefit NGO should not improperly assume the authority of the community it serves.
Code of Ethics and Conduct for NGOs.