What Nonprofits, Governments, and Universities Can Learn From Yale's Trust Report

Greg Berman argues Yale's public self-audit is a template for nonprofits, governments, and universities losing public trust. The lesson is structural.

What Nonprofits, Governments, and Universities Can Learn From Yale's Trust Report Greg Berman argues Yale's public self-audit is a template for nonprofits, governments, and universities losing public trust. The lesson is structural. Aaron Rafferty May 07, 2026 Key Takeaways: Greg Berman's May 6 Chronicle of Philanthropy op-ed argues Yale's public self-examination is a template for any institution facing declining public trust The Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy found only 42 percent of Americans expressed strong trust in nonprofits in March 2025, with support declining further six months later The lesson is structural, not cosmetic: trust is built through competence, integrity, and responsiveness, not through better messaging or narrative consultants When public trust in an institution declines, the nonprofit sector typically hires communications consultants and refines the narrative. Greg Berman, writing in the Chronicle of Philanthropy on May 6, argues Yale University ran the opposite play. Yale commissioned a faculty committee to examine why public trust in higher education had collapsed, gave the committee a year to consult dozens of stakeholders, and published the full 58-page report in April with the uncomfortable findings included. The committee did not soften the verdict. It told Yale's own president the institution had been "more than mere bystanders" in the erosion. That kind of public self-audit is rare across civil society, and Berman argues the trust gap is real. The Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy found only 42 percent of Americans expressed strong trust in nonprofits in a March 2025 survey, with support declining further when the survey was repeated six months later. The sector's response has largely been narr