Transparency & Openness In Irish Charities

Abstract

Background: In recent years, the Irish charity sector has undergone significant regulatory reform, considering a succession of scandals and mismanagement. The sector is being by a decline in public trust, donations, and charities' reputation. These scandals have been affected by a lack of transparency and best practice in the sector. Purpose: The research purpose is investigating the impact of transparency in the third sector. The main question of this study is: What are the standards that charities must meet to obtain donations and demonstrate how the donations are spending, and are the public aware of what are the objectives of non-profits organizations? Methodology: The study is an exploratory study based on a mixed method, with a grounded theory approach to gathering qualitative information through semi-structured interviews with five stakeholders, a questionnaire to the public, and an analysis of key charities websites and financial statement. All interviewees have a relevant role, direct and indirect, in the charity sector. The interviews were designed to collect information from stakeholders on their governance experiences, transparency expertise, and sector issues. The online questionnaire was conducted with the public, with the purpose to evaluate donors motivations for donating. Finally, the analysis of websites and financial statements of five large charities that have won excellence awards in 2019, enable the identification of what is involved on the achievement of high standards. Relevance: The significance of this research is to determine the influence of transparency in Irish non-profits organizations. They distinguish this study from past studies on stakeholders' internal and external perspectives to fulfil the gap between public expectations and charities. Findings: The main findings in this research reaffirm the literature review that donation, public trust, volunteers, partnerships with a for-profit organization, and attracting donors increases when charities are transparent and disclose their charitable activities. However, there are costs to comply with regulation, legislation, maintain transparency and good governance.