“Replenishing Trust” is here!

We’ve teased and offered sneak peeks. Today we offer a guide for civil society leaders to contribute to rebuilding strong trust across society. You can download the guide and toolkit here: www.spitfirestrategies.com/trust.

Featured in Stanford Social Innovation Review today, “Replenishing Trust: Civil Society’s Guide to Reversing the Trust Deficit” gives concrete actions for civil society organizations to take to reverse the well-documented trust deficit. 

Trust doesn’t just happen. American civil society institutions have an important role to play in increasing trust — which is necessary to create the kind of world we all want to live in. 

In the guide, we share what Spitfire learned from a deep dive into the social sciences. We offer ways to create a spirit of trust statement, how to assess the level of trust an organization currently experiences, 10 concrete behaviors and practices to earn more trust, and ideas for rebuilding trust when breached. 

Our three biggest takeaways: 

• Trust-building is actions aligned to values — it’s not just communicating about what matters but doing it. 
• Leaders and organizations can take concrete steps to earn more trust, which will help them achieve their missions, strengthen democracy and offer a North Star when trust is tested. 
• Earning trust is a dynamic force that’s well worth nurturing, and there is no better time to start earning it. 

We’d love your feedback, additional tips, and resources and examples you have.  

We are grateful to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for supporting this work. (Note: The views in the guide are not necessarily shared by the Foundation.)